(BIVN) – Another skunk has been captured in Hilo; the second this month. 

Agriculture inspectors from the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB) captured the skunk near Hilo Harbor on November 27. 

“One of DAB’s Plant Quarantine Branch (PQB) inspectors in Hilo received a second-hand report from a stevedore at Hilo Harbor yesterday that his relative saw a skunk that morning on Kanoelehua Avenue and tried to run it over but missed,” a Friday news release from the Hawaiʻi DAB stated. “The person said he saw the skunk run under a fence at the Hilo shipyard. PQB inspectors immediately began searching the area, spotted the skunk and used a net to capture the animal.” 

The first skunk that was spotted at Hilo Harbor was captured on November 7th. 

photo of the Hilo skunk provided by the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity

“Both skunks were humanely euthanized for rabies testing,” the DAB wrote. “Tests for the skunk captured on November 7 were negative for rabies. Results for the skunk captured yesterday are pending.”

From the Hawaiʻi DAB:

Skunks are prohibited in Hawai‘i. They are avid egg-eaters and would pose a threat to Hawai‘i’s native ground-nesting birds if they become established. They inhabit the mainland 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. More information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is available at: https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/index.html

Sightings or captures of illegal and invasive species should be reported to the state’s toll-free Pest Hotline at 808-643-PEST (7378).