Live opossum found at Maui car dealership

A live opossum was spotted at a car dealership on Maui on Monday afternoon and was put down by officers with the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR.)

The Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity Maui Plant Quarantine Branch received a call at about 2:30 p.m. Monday from a Maui car dealership that reported that there was an opossum in a new van.

At about 2:40 p.m., Maui PQB inspectors arrived at the site and were met by DLNR – Division of Forestry and Wildlife officers who had also just arrived. They located the opossum inside the bumper cavity of the van which was inaccessible. It was decided that DLNR personnel would use an air rifle to prevent the possibility of escape. The opossum was dispatched with a single shot. PQB inspectors extracted the animal which has been sent to O‘ahu for rabies testing.

Opossums are known to hitchhike on cargo ships. Over the years, several opossums have been captured in Hawai‘i:

• Oct. 21, 2025 – O‘ahu PQB inspectors captured an opossum at Honolulu Harbor using a pole and net.
• Sept. 15, 2025 – Hilo PQB inspectors trapped an opossum hiding in the undercarriage of a vehicle at Hilo Harbor. 
• January 2025 – an opossum was caught at a big-box store in Kona.
• December 2024 – an opossum was trapped by PQB inspectors at a big-box store in Iwilei on O‘ahu. 
• August 2024 – an opossum was captured at a Kalihi freight company after workers saw it run into a shipping container.
• July 2024 – an opossum was captured on a window ledge of an office building in Downtown Honolulu.
• June 2016 – an opossum was captured by workers offloading a cargo ship at Honolulu Harbor.
• July 2015 – an opossum was captured in Kaka‘ako near the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Office on Ala Moana Blvd., an area surrounded by arriving cargo.
• July 2012 – an opossum was caught in an animal trap at a Sand Island warehouse.
• August 2011 – one was found in a shipping container as it was being unloaded in the Ward Center area.
• In 2005, two opossums were found – one was captured inside a military cargo plane at Hickam Air Force Base and the other was found in the mail receiving area of the U.S. Postal Service facility at Honolulu International Airport.

Opossums are native to North America and are omnivorous, with diets that range from insects, bird eggs and rodents, to fruits and vegetables. Although opossums are less likely to carry rabies than other mammals, they are carriers of parasites and other diseases.

Anyone spotting an illegal animal should call the statewide toll-free PEST HOTLINE at 808-643-PEST (7378).