Raccoon captured in shipping container on Oʻahu

A raccoon was captured Wednesday in a shipping container of household goods and furniture on Oʻahu.

Moving crews spotted the raccoon Tuesday as they were unloading the container at a residence in Iroquois Point. The movers immediately closed the container and contacted the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture, Plant Quarantine Branch.

Agricultural inspectors were dispatched to the moving company where the truck was transported to and set several traps in the container overnight. When inspectors checked the container this morning, the raccoon was in one of the traps but was already deceased. A HDOA veterinarian said the raccoon is a young female and is being tested for rabies.

Transportation records show that the container came from Maryland via California and arrived at  Honolulu Harbor on March 19. The container had not been opened in transit to Hawai‘i. 

Raccoons are native to North America. They are omnivorous and their diets consists of plants, insects, birds, bird eggs, fish and small mammals. Raccoons may also carry rabies and other diseases. Hawai‘i is the only state in the US and one of the few areas in the world that is rabies-free.

According to a 2018 rabies surveillance report by the American Veterinary Medical Association, there were about 5,000 reported cases of rabies in wild animals in the US Raccoons accounted for about 30% of wild animal cases, second to bats at 33%.

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).