HONOLULU – Stevedores helped capture a live skunk Wednesday morning at Pier 1 at Honolulu Harbor.
The skunk was spotted on the dock, and stevedores used a fishing net to capture the animal and contained it until agricultural inspectors from the state Department of Agriculture picked up the animal at about 7:30 a.m.
The skunk was determined to be a young male and is being tested for rabies.
The container ship that was docked at Pier 1 arrived Tuesday morning and was carrying cargo that originated from Canada, Mexico, U.S. and possibly other foreign ports. The ship left port later Wednesday morning and was headed to Kahului Harbor, where personnel have been advised to look out for other possible stowaways.
As a precaution, agricultural inspectors have deployed traps at Pier 1 in case there are more hitchhiking animals on the dock.
Live skunks have been captured at Pier 1 in July 2021, February 2018 and January 2021.
On Maui, a live skunk was captured at Kahului Harbor in December 2020, and another was captured at a trucking company in August 2018. All previously captured skunks have tested negative for rabies.
Skunks are prohibited in Hawaii and are only allowed by permit for research and exhibition in a municipal zoo.
Skunks are recognized as one of the four primary wild carriers of rabies. Hawaii is the only state in the U.S. and one of the few places in the world that is free of rabies.