Agriculture and biosecurity officials in Hawai‘i have captured a second skunk in Hilo this month, heightening concerns about invasive species hitchhiking into the state aboard cargo ships.
The Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB) said inspectors from the Plant Quarantine Branch (PQB) caught the latest skunk yesterday after a stevedore reported that his relative had seen the animal on Kanoelehua Avenue before it fled under a fence at the Hilo shipyard.
PQB teams immediately searched the area, located the animal, and captured it using a net. The discovery comes just weeks after inspectors trapped another skunk at Hilo Harbour on November 7, following two early-morning reports from shipping company staff. In that incident, dockworkers attempted to contain the animal, while a second skunk was seen hiding in the undercarriage of a vehicle inside a shipping container. Inspectors deployed traps and successfully caught it the next day.
The origins of both Hilo skunks remain unknown, but officials believe they likely stowed away on incoming cargo vessels. It is also unclear whether the animals arrived together or separately.
Both skunks were humanely euthanised for rabies testing. The earlier captured animal tested negative, while results for the second remain pending.
Skunk sightings at Hawai‘i ports are not uncommon. Previous captures have occurred at Honolulu Harbor in 2018, 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025, as well as at Kahului Harbor, Kanahā Pond State Wildlife Sanctuary, and residential areas. All tested skunks to date have been rabies-negative.
Skunks are banned in Hawai‘i due to the severe threat they pose to native ground-nesting birds and the risk of rabies introduction. Hawai‘i is the only U.S. state free of the deadly virus.
Officials urge the public to report any suspected invasive species to the state’s Pest Hotline at 808-643-PEST (7378).
Image credit: Bryan Padron
