Department of Agriculture

NR21-02
Jan. 21, 2021

HONOLULU – A live skunk was captured yesterday morning at Pier 1 at Honolulu Harbor. Plant Quarantine inspectors from the Hawai`i Department of Agriculture (HDOA) were called by the State Department of Transportation – Harbors Division on Tuesday night and reported that a stevedore had cornered and contained a skunk under a container at the pier. HDOA inspectors arrived that night, but due to safety concerns were unable to capture the skunk.  Early yesterday morning, a team of inspectors was able to safely capture the animal.

The skunk was determined to be female and weighed about 6 pounds. A test for rabies has been sent to the mainland and results are expected in a few days. Currently, it is unknown how the skunk arrived at the pier. As a precautionary measure, inspectors have also set traps in the surrounding area in case there may be other hitchhiking animals nearby.

Last month, a live skunk was also found at a Kahului pier after being spotted by a biologist. In February 2018, a live skunk was contained by stevedores at Pier 1 at Honolulu Harbor and in August 2018, a live skunk was found in a container at a trucking company on Maui. All of those skunks were captured by HDOA inspectors and tested negative for rabies.

Skunks are prohibited in Hawai`i and are only allowed by permit for research and exhibition in a municipal zoo. Skunks inhabit the U.S., Canada, South America, Mexico and other parts of the world. In the U.S. they are  recognized as one of the four primary wild carriers of rabies, a fatal viral disease of mammals that is often transmitted through the bite of an infected animal. Hawai`i is the only state in the U.S. and one of the few places in the world that is free of rabies.

Sightings or captures of illegal and invasive species should be reported to the state’s toll-free Pest Hotline at 643-PEST (7378).

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Skunk Captured at Honolulu Harbor