HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A second live skunk in one week was captured Thursday at Honolulu Harbor.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection staff initially spotted the skunk at Pier 1 on Tuesday, Nov. 11.
The staff sent a report to the state Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity’s Plant Quarantine Branch, and inspectors were dispatched to the pier.
They set four traps baited with cat food around the area, officials said.
Then, on Thursday, dockworkers notified inspectors that one of the traps caught the skunk.
The animal was humanely euthanized, and a rabies test is being conducted.
First skunk tests negative for rabies
The first reported skunk this week was captured at Hilo Harbor last Friday, Nov. 7.
Crews worked to trap it by loading a vehicle into a shipping container and using cat food as bait.
The animal was later found in the vehicle’s undercarriage.
Hilo inspectors maintained the traps in the area out of precaution.
No further skunks at Hilo Harbor have been captured.
The captured skunk was also humanely euthanized and tested negative for rabies.
Officials said it is not clear where the animals came from, but it’s possible they hitchhiked aboard cargo ships.
Other recent skunk captures
Since 2018, on Oahu, four other skunks have been captured at Honolulu Harbor, while a fifth was captured at Kakaako Waterfront Park.
At the same time, there have been three skunk captures on Maui, and one was reported on Hawaii Island.
Why skunks are captured and euthanized
Skunks are prohibited in Hawaii.
They are avid egg-eaters and would pose a threat to the island’s native ground-nesting birds if they become established, said officials.
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.
Hawaii 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 808-643-PEST (7378).
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