Opossum caught after days of avoiding capture in Honolulu Harbor

A live opossum that managed to evade capture for several days was finally captured in Honolulu Harbor, according to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture.

Officials say the opossum was captured Monday night at Pier 1.

Longshoremen first spotted the possum running in the Pier 1 parking lot at 3 a.m. last Thursday. Inspectors from the plant quarantine unit set traps in the area, but did not capture the possum.

At midnight Friday, U.S. Immigration Office security personnel at Pier 1 reported spotting the skunk on a security camera entering and exiting the property through a fence.

Inspectors responded to the scene in another attempt to capture the possum, but were unsuccessful.

Then, on Monday night, USIO security personnel reported seeing the opossum take shelter under a cargo container used for storage. Three inspectors responded and, using a net, a stick and wooden planks, managed to capture the possum after scaring it out of its hiding place – and “tackling the animal’s natural odorous defense system”.

Agriculture officials say it’s not yet known how long the opossum has been in the area or what ship it may have hitched a ride to the state on. The opossum is being tested for rabies.

Opossums have been captured at the pier several times – in June 2022, January and July 2021, and in February 2018. An opossum was also captured in Kahului Harbor in December 2020. All previously captured opossums tested negative for rabies, authorities said. .

Opossums are prohibited in Hawaii except under permits for research and display at a municipal zoo, the HDOA said, as they are recognized as one of the four main wild carriers of rabies in the US.

“Hawaii is the only U.S. state and one of the few places in the world that is rabies-free,” HDOA said in a press release.

Sightings of illegal and invasive species should be reported immediately to the state’s toll-free pest hotline at 808-643-PEST (7378).