Hitchhiking skunk captured at Hilo Harbor last Friday

After evading dockworkers and agriculture inspectors for at least a day, a live skunk was captured in Hilo Harbor last Friday.

Agriculture inspectors from the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity’s Plant Quarantine Branch were dispatched to Pier 1 of Hilo Harbor Thursday morning after two people from a shipping company reported seeing a skunk.

In one report, dockworkers attempted to barricade the animal near cement pilings, but it escaped before inspectors arrived.

Another report indicated that the skunk had taken refuge in the undercarriage of a vehicle on the dock, and although visible, it was not accessible at the time. Inspectors asked dockworkers to move the vehicle into a shipping container where they set traps using cat food and closed the container.

Plant Quarantine Branch staff returned to the container Friday morning and found the skunk in the trap. Staff conducted further surveys in the area but did not find any other skunks. As a precaution, additional traps have been deployed throughout the container yard.

The captured skunk was humanely euthanized for rabies testing.

The origin of the skunk is unknown but is presumed to have hitchhiked aboard a cargo ship. Skunks were previously spotted and captured by stevedores at Honolulu Harbor in February 2018, January 2021, July 2021, June 2022, and in June 2025, a skunk was captured at Kakaʻako Waterfront Park, which is adjacent to Honolulu Harbor.

On Maui, a live skunk was captured at Kahului Harbor in December 2020, and one was captured at a trucking company in August 2018. Also on Maui, the Department of Land and Natural Resources captured a skunk at Kanahā Pond State Wildlife Sanctuary in August 2022.

In February 2023, a Hilo resident caught a skunk in a mongoose trap. All previously captured skunks have tested negative for rabies.

Skunks are avid egg-eaters and would pose a threat to Hawaiʻi’s native ground-nesting birds if they become established. They inhabit the mainland U.S., Canada, South America, Mexico, and other parts of the world. They are prohibited in Hawaiʻi.

In the U.S., they are recognized as one of the four primary wild carriers of rabies, a fatal viral disease of mammals that is often transmitted through the bite of an infected animal. Hawaiʻi is the only state in the U.S. and one of the few places in the world that is free of rabies.

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