The scurrying of tiny paws and the rise in eyebrow-raising droppings have led to the capture of an opossum in Honolulu's Iwilei neighborhood, marking the third such incident in the area this year. In what seems to be an ongoing series of uninvited guest appearances by these North American marsupials, the latest occurrence was at a local big-box store, as reported by the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture (HDOA).
It's not exactly a common sight in the busy streets of Honolulu, but this nine-pound male opossum managed to find a rather unusual hideaway. After a passerby reported sighting the creature on the night of December 12, HDOA inspectors took action, setting traps baited with bananas, apples, and cantaloupe. Success came last Sunday morning, when they found the animal inside one of the storage container traps—not somewhere you'd typically expect to find local wildlife.
The situation is odd because store employees didn’t see the opossum enter through any shipping container, nor was the trapped container used for that purpose. However, since the HDOA views these marsupials as invasive species and the origins of this one are unknown, they decided to euthanize it for rabies testing.
Historically, these furry invaders have made a handful of notable appearances ranging from a window ledge downtown to the intricacies of Honolulu's harbors and even military bases, according to HDOA records. While opossums are omnivorous and less likely to carry rabies, they do tote a whole host of other undesirable parasites and diseases. So, residents are encouraged to keep an eye out for any suspicious animal activity and report it directly to the statewide toll-free PEST HOTLINE at 808-643-PEST (7378).
