Courtesy of HDOA Officials say the opossum appears to be an adult male or older juvenile and is approximately 18 to 24 inches long.
Courtesy of HDOA Officials say the opossum appears to be an adult male or older juvenile and is approximately 18 to 24 inches long.
Government officials have captured another live opossum after cargo workers spotted the animal in a shipping container in Kalihi.
The Hawaii Department of Agriculture reports that workers were unloading construction materials from the 40-foot container Monday afternoon when they spotted it. They locked the container and reported it to HDOA’s plant quarantine department.
Agricultural inspectors who arrived on the scene found the possum on a pallet and were able to quickly capture it.
The opossum appears to be an adult male or older juvenile, officials said, and is about 1.5 to 2 feet long. It likely hitchhiked to Hawaii from California in a container. As a precaution, HDOA is testing it for rabies.
This latest capture comes about a month after he was spotted on a windowsill of a building in downtown Honolulu. Officials also captured that opossum and said he tested negative for rabies.
According to officials, the exact origin of both possums is still unknown.
Officials say opossums are not native to Hawaii and could harm the environment if they establish themselves there.
The marsupials are omnivorous scavengers, with diets ranging from insects to bird eggs, rodents, fruits and vegetables. While they are less likely to carry rabies than other mammals, HDOA said, they are carriers of parasites and other diseases.
Keeping possums is also illegal in Hawaii.
Since 2005, several opossums have been captured in Hawaii, including:—June 2016, on a cargo ship in Honolulu Harbor.—July 2015, near the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Office in Kakaako.—July 2012, in a cat trap in a warehouse on Sand Island.—August 2011, in a shipping container while being unloaded at the Ward Center.—2005, when two opossums were found—one on a military cargo plane at Hickam Air Force Base and the other in the U.S. Postal Service office at Honolulu International Airport.
According to HODA, illegal animals must be reported to the toll-free pest control line at 808-643-PEST (7378).
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