Live opossum captured at Honolulu Harbor

A live opossum has been captured at a freight transporting facility at Honolulu Harbor. 

On Saturday, Sept. 19, Matson employees observed an opossum within their property at Honolulu Harbor. The employees notified the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, Plant Quarantine Branch.

PQB inspectors responded Saturday afternoon by setting out traps baited with cat food and apples. On Sunday the opossum was found inside one of the traps. PQB staff checked the rest of the area and found no other opossums.

Per animal and human health protocol, the opossum was humanely euthanized and submitted for rabies testing, according to department officials. A tissue sample is being sent to the mainland for testing. Hawai‘i is the only state in the US and one of the few places in the world free of rabies.

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

• August 2026 – an opossum was captured at a freight transporting warehouse near Hilo Harbor.
• May 2026 – an opossum was captured in a container near Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.
• November 2025 – an opossum was found at a car dealership on Maui.
• October 2025 – two opossums were captured by PQB inspectors at two separate locations at Honolulu Harbor.
• September 2025 – an opossum was captured by PQB inspectors 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.

Opossums are prohibited in Hawai‘i and are only allowed by permit for research and exhibition in a municipal zoo. 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 immediately call the statewide toll-free PEST HOTLINE at 808-643-PEST (7378).