HONOLULU (KHON2) -- A third opossum has been captured in Honolulu this year, according to the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture (HDOA). Get Hawaii's latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You The animal was trapped overnight by plant quarantine inspectors at a big-box store in Iwilei. The Plant Quarantine Branch received a report of the opossum on Dec. 12, when a passerby noted seeing the animal in the area the previous night. Inspectors set up traps and returned to the site on Dec. 15, where they found opossum droppings in a storage container. They set additional traps using bananas, apples, and cantaloupe as bait. The following morning, the opossum was found in one of the traps. Opossum captured in downtown Honolulu It remains unclear where the opossum originated. Store employees said they did not see the animal emerge from any shipping container, although it was observed roaming the area at night. The storage container where the animal was trapped had not been used for shipping. The opossum, a male weighing approximately nine pounds, will be euthanized for rabies testing due to the unknown origin of the animal. Several opossums have been captured in Hawaii in recent years, including: August 2024: Captured at a Kalihi freight company after it ran into a shipping container. July 2024: Captured on a window ledge of an office building in Downtown Honolulu. June 2016: Captured by workers offloading a cargo ship at Honolulu Harbor. July 2015: Captured near the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Office in Kaka‘ako. July 2012: Captured in a cat trap at a Sand Island warehouse. August 2011: Found in a shipping container in the Ward Center area. 2005: Two opossums were found, one inside a military cargo plane at Hickam Air Force Base and the other at a U.S. Postal Service facility at Honolulu International Airport. Opossum found in shipping container raises concerns about growing threat in Hawaii Opossums are native to North America and are omnivores, feeding on insects, bird eggs, rodents, fruits, and vegetables. While less likely to carry rabies than other mammals, they can carry parasites and other diseases. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news Anyone who spots an illegal animal is urged to call the statewide toll-free PEST HOTLINE at 808-643-PEST (7378).