Honolulu police officers responding to a 911 call captured a live snake at the Kapolei Home Depot last night, according to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture.
Store employees made the emergency call at about about 11 p.m. Wednesday, the department said, after spotting it on a pallet in a shipping container of mixed goods. Officers used a bucket to capture the snake and brought it to Kapolei Police Station.
Inspectors from the state Department of Agriculture took custody of the snake this morning.
According to the department, the snake measures about 21 inches long, and has been identified by reptile experts as a non-venomous juvenile gopher snake.
Gopher snakes are found in North America and feed on small rodents, young rabbits, lizards, birds and their eggs. They kill their prey by constriction and suffocation. They can grow up to about seven feet.
“In Hawaii, snakes are illegal to possess, have no natural predators, and pose a serious threat to Hawaii’s unique ecosystem as they compete with native animal populations for food and habitat,” said the department in a news release.
Under state law, owning, transporting or possessing illegal animals is a Class C felony, with a maximum fine of $200,000 and up to three years in prison.
HDOA also reminds the public that under the state’s amnesty program, those with illegal animals may turn them in to any HDOA office, Honolulu Zoo, Panaewa Zoo on Hawaii island or any Humane Society, with no questions asked or fines assessed.
Anyone with information about illegal animals — or sightings or captures of illegal animals or invasive species — should call the statewide toll-free pest hotline at 643-PEST (7378).
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