COURTESY HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE & BIOSECURITY
State authorities say they have captured a live opossum found at a freight forwarding warehouse near Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu.
At approximately 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, an employee reported to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity that they saw an opossum inside a shipping container, and had immediately sealed it.
Opossums are illegal in Hawaii because they are non-native and, with no natural predators, they could harm the environment and native birds if established in the islands, according to officials.
DAB’s Plant Quarantine Branch responded within the hour, but was unable to safely capture the animal because the container was still fully loaded. Staff deployed traps with food and water in the container and resealed it.
On Wednesday morning, upon checking the container, staff found the opossum in one of the traps.
“Per animal and human health protocol, the opossum was humanely euthanized and submitted for rabies testing,” said DAB in a news release. “A tissue sample is being sent to the mainland for testing. No other opossums were found.”
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Over the past 15 years, DAB has captured opossums throughout Hawaii:
>> November 2025: An opossum was found at a car dealership on Maui.
>> October 2025: PQB inspectors captured two opossums at two separate locations at Honolulu Harbor.
>> September 2025: PQB inspectors captured an opossum at Hilo Harbor.
>> January 2025: An opossum was caught at a big box store in Kona.
>> December 2024: PQB inspectors trapped one at a big box store in Iwilei, Oahu.
>> August 2024: An opossum was captured at a Kalihi freight company after workers saw it run into a shipping container.
>> July 2024: Inspectors captured one on the window ledge of a downtown Honolulu office building.
>> June 2016: An opossum was captured by workers offloading a cargo ship at Honolulu Harbor.
>> July 2015: An opossum was captured in Kakaako near the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Office on Ala Moana Boulevard.
>> July 2012: An opossum was caught in an animal trap at a Sand Island warehouse.
>> August 2011: An opossum was found in a shipping container as it was being unloaded in the Ward Center area.
Anyone who spots an illegal animal should call the statewide toll-free pest hotline at 808-643-PEST (7378).