State wildlife officers killed an opossum Monday at a Maui car dealership.

Officials with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture’s Biosecurity Maui Plant Quarantine Branch received a call Monday afternoon from the dealership reporting that an opossum had been found in a new van. Inspectors and wildlife officers responding to the call found the animal inside the bumper cavity.

According to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, the wildlife officers could not reach the opossum to catch it, so they decided to use an air rifle “to prevent the possibility of escape.”

The animal was killed with a single shot, and inspectors sent the carcass to Oahu for rabies testing.

Opossums are native to North America and can carry parasites and other diseases. State officials said the animals are known to hitchhike to Hawaii on cargo ships, with several incidents reported over the years, including three in 2025.

Anyone who sees an illegal animal in Hawaii should call the statewide toll-free Pest Hotline at 808-643-PEST (7378).