Stinky hitchhiker eludes capture for several days at Honolulu Harbor

Three Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture inspectors found themselves Monday night once again up against an invasive hitchhiker that had eluded them already for several days at Honolulu Harbor on O‘ahu.

This was no ordinary capture mission, however; there was a stink bomb waiting to go off under the cargo container at the harbor’s Pier 1, where the stinky culprit was hiding.

They had their target cornered, and they were capturing it no matter any smelly consequences.

A live skunk was caught Monday night at Honolulu Harbor.

The animal had been tracked since about 3 a.m. Oct. 10 when inspectors with the state Agriculture Department’s Plant Quarantine Branch got a report that stevedores spotted a skunk running around the parking lot at Pier 1.

Inspectors set traps in the area that day.

Security personnel with the U.S. Immigration Office at Pier 1 contacted inspectors at midnight Oct. 11, saying the skunk was seen on a security camera entering and exiting the property through a fence.

Inspectors responded to the area and unsuccessfully attempted to capture the animal.

Immigration office security personnel then reported at 8:30 p.m. Monday that the skunk was seen at the pier taking shelter under a cargo container used for storage.

Three inspectors responded and were finally able to trap the skunk — braving its odoriferous natural defenses — using a net, pole and wooden boards to scare it out its hiding place.

The animal is being tested for rabies.

It’s unknown how long the skunk was in the area or what vessel it hitchhiked on to make its way to the islands.

This isn’t the first time one of the black-and-white living stink bombs has been captured in Hawai‘i.

Live skunks were previously captured in February 2018, January 2021, July 2021 and June 2022 at Honolulu’s Pier 1.

Live skunks were also captured in December 2020 at Kahului Harbor and at a trucking company in August 2018 on Maui.

All of those animals tested negative for rabies.

Skunks are prohibited in Hawai‘i and only allowed by permit for research and exhibit in municipal zoos.

They are native to the U.S. mainland, Canada, South America, Mexico and other parts of the world.

Skunks are 1 of 4 primary wild carriers of rabies in the United States. Hawai‘i is the only state and one few places in the world that is free of the viral mammal disease that is fatal and often transmitted through the bite of an infected animal.

Sightings or captures of illegal and invasive species should be reported immediately to the state’s Pest Hotline at 808-643-PEST (7378).