Posted on 10/04/2005 4:24:02 AM PDT by Cowman
HONOLULU - A postal worker discovered a 15-pound opossum moving around inside a trash bin at Honolulu International Airport, the second such animal found at the airport in the past three months, state agriculture officials said.
"We're not sure how it got in the trash bin," said Janelle Saneishi, spokeswoman for the state Department of Agriculture. "It is in an offloading area for surface mail. It's possible it came in on a container and somehow found its way to the trash bin."
A marsupial native to the mainland, opossums are distinctive for their long, rat-like, prehensile tails which allows them to grab tree branches.
The animal found Sunday, a black and white male about two feet long, was euthanized and will be tested for rabies.
Another male opossum was discovered June 19 at Hickam Air Force Base inside the cargo hold of a military chartered airplane that arrived from Travis Air Force Base in California. That animal was also euthanized, and tested negative for rabies.
"In both incidents, quick action by airport-area workers resulted in the capture of these illegal animals," said Sandra Kunimoto, chairperson of the Hawaii Board of Agriculture. "Workers at all ports of entry are an important line of defense against the introduction of invasive species and we appreciate the postal worker's alertness and responsiveness."
In related news, an oppossum was found under a GA Freeper's house this morning.
Even a possum likes to travel...
Hawaii don't play dat.
LOL.
I had one of those in my suburban backyard last week. The thing hissed at me.
And remember. If she doesn't find you handsome she may as well find you handy.
Well, we may not be able to stop terrorists or millions of illegal aliens from entering our country, but by golly our federal government can at least protect Hawaii from a marsupial invasion!!!
I can sleep better at night now.
This is a good sign. The Governator has DU members on the run.
Hmm. Smelly, rat-like, more often than not found dead on the side of the road... They're at least in the ballpark for spotting terrorists.
Oh poop.
Them's good eatin'! Them grass skirt wearing Hawaiians don't know what they're missing.
yes, it was that important.
For more opossum info: http://www.opossum.org/
(Note...these folks are possum-apologists...)
Chicken am good, hambone am good, possum meat am very very fine.
Perhaps we should put these quick acting postal workers along the border.
The whole thing is there are, or were, no possums in Hawaii before.
Heck, I get them in my yard every night. I can't stand the things. Big rats.
The Red Green Show retroactively justified our invasion of Canada in the War of 1812.
They're doing the work that other marsupials won't do.
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