Photo of the captured skunk courtesy the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture

(BIVN) – A live skunk was captured at Honolulu Harbor on Monday night, after several days of tracking by state agriculture inspectors.

Last Thursday, stevedores reported seeing a skunk running around the parking lot at Pier 1. Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture Plant Quarantine Branch inspectors set traps in the area that same day.

From the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture:

At midnight Friday, security personnel from the U.S. Immigration Office (USIO) at Pier 1 contacted inspectors and reported that the skunk was seen on a security camera entering and exiting the property through a fence. Inspectors responded to the area and attempted to capture the skunk but were not successful. 

Last night at 8:30 p.m., USIO security personnel reported the skunk was seen taking shelter under a cargo container used for storage. Three inspectors responded and were able to capture the skunk using a net, pole and wooden boards to scare it out its hiding place, while braving the animal’s odoriferous natural defense system. The skunk is being tested for rabies. 

Officials say it is not known how long the skunk had been in the area or what vessel it may have hitchhiked on.

Live skunks have been captured at the same pier several times over the last few years, as well as on Maui. All previously captured skunks have tested negative for rabies.

From the Hawaiʻi DOA:

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 immediately reported to the state’s toll-free Pest Hotline at 808-643-PEST (7378).