Opossum captured overnight at an Iwilei business

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Another opossum has been captured in Honolulu. This time, it was trapped at a big box store in Iwilei overnight.

Department of Agriculture plant quarantine inspectors were called to the location after a passerby saw the opossum in the area on Dec. 12.

That prompted them to set traps, and Wednesday morning, the animal was found trapped in a storage container. It is not known where the opossum came from. Officials say the storage container where the animal was trapped was not used for shipping.

After further inspection, the animal was confirmed to be a male, weighing about nine pounds.

Agriculture officials added that since its origin isn’t known, it will be euthanized so it may be tested for rabies.

This is the third opossum that has been captured in Honolulu this year. Two others were caught in August and July, one of them at a Kalihi freight company, and another on a window ledge of an office building in Downtown.

Opossums are native to North America and pose a significant risk to Hawaii’s native wildlife. Ag officials added that although opossums are less likely to carry rabies than other mammals, they are carriers of parasites and other diseases.

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