Last month a skunk was captured following a search by the Hawai`i Department of Agriculture. Upon his capture, the striped fella remarked, “this stinks!”, but you knew that was coming… Security cameras eyed the renegade and after a few futile attempts at capture, Hanapepe Le Pew was cornered and caught. A half dozen skunks have been caught here over the past six years; all tested negative for rabies. Skunks tend to carouse at night, and we know that nothing good ever happens after midnight. For this marauder, it was lights out. Guess he didn’t pass the smell test.
As you know, it’s not just uninvited skunks that find their way to our shores. Iguanas, boa constrictors, raccoons, and other non-native species have been nabbed here after nefariously stowing away on a ship, plane or getting smuggled in.
And then there are wallabies. While not native to Hawai`i, they are a protected species found on O`ahu, allegedly the result of a pair that escaped from a private Kalihi zoo over 100 years ago. When found locally (quite rare) they’re often returned to our forests; they are considered non-invasive, but are most assuredly hopping mad when caught! Now let’s not confuse wallabies with our own species of wannabes– you know, the type that plays big body… Mr. Tun-ta-duh. We’ve all met people who are their own greatest fan club; in my day, we’d label him/her as a “dig me”… you know: “hey, dig me!”
In August, an opossum was trapped locally, just a month after another of these marsupials was captured downtown (possibly using a vacant office, post-COVID). Like skunks, at least six of these bandicoot bandits (all non-rabid) have been apprehended over the past 13-years. They eat bird eggs, fruit, and veggies, and can carry diseases, so never party with a posing ‘possum; continue to promote opossum opposition.
I do enjoy occasional news stories about cavorting castaway creatures who try to make it here after making it here (by boat/plane). Most can’t find housing (duh), but the mere fact that we highlight these sightings sometimes provides a welcome, thirty-second respite from the incessant droning about people/countries not getting along, the perils of climate change, nonsensical violence, the latest possibly arriving virus, and (of course) the perils/inconvenience of having to stand up every time someone in your row wants to head to the head at UH’s claustrophobic Ching Stadium.
Think about it…