Two opossums caught at Honolulu Harbor; One caught in September in Hilo

Two live opossums were captured on Tuesday at two separate locations at Honolulu Harbor. Another opossum was also captured in Hilo last month.

At 6:45 a.m. today, a shipping company reported seeing an opossum running round in the container yard at Pier 1 overnight. Agriculture inspectors from the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity’s Plant Quarantine Branch (PQB) responded within the hour and captured the opossum using a pole and a net after it took shelter under a shipping container. 

At 11:00 a.m., a different shipping company on the opposite end of the harbor reported that it had captured an opossum in a cat trap after observing the animal running around the container yard around Pier 51. PQB inspectors were immediately dispatched and retrieved the animal.

On Sept. 15, an opossum was captured in a trap by Hilo Plant Quarantine inspectors at Pier 1 at Hilo Harbor. Three days before, an employee from a shipping company reported seeing an opossum running between vehicles on the dock. Agricultural inspectors were dispatched and saw the opossum crawl into the undercarriage of a vehicle, but were unable to physically reach the animal as it moved further into the engine. The vehicle was moved into a 40-foot container where traps with cat food and water were deployed.

As per animal and human health protocol, all the opossums were humanely euthanized and submitted for rabies testing. The Hilo opossum tested negative for rabies. Tissue samples from the two opossums caught today are being sent to the mainland for testing.

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

• 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).