Live opossum captured in downtown Honolulu

A live opossum was captured early Wednesday morning, July 17, outside a downtown office building. An office worker in the area saw the opossum on a window ledge in the gated doorway outside the Austin Building at 223 S. King St. (former Hawaiian Electric Company building) and reported it to the Honolulu Police Department. Arriving officers were able to climb over the locked gate and capture the animal using a broomstick and a plastic bin. Plant Quarantine inspectors from the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture were called at about 7:30 a.m. and were dispatched to scene and took custody of the opossum.

The opossum measured about 2 feet long from head to tail and appears to be an adult or older juvenile. It is not known how the opossum arrived in Honolulu, although they have been known to stow away in shipping containers.

Over the years, several opossums have been captured in Hawai‘i:

• 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 US Immigration and Naturalization Office on Ala Moana Blvd, an area surrounded by arriving cargo.
• July 2012 –  an opossum was caught in a cat 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. Because the origin of the animal is unknown, the opossum is being tested for rabies as a precaution.

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