Select an option below to continue reading this premium story.
Already a Honolulu Star-Advertiser subscriber? Log in now to continue reading.
A farmworker caught a live snake July 1 on a Kaanapali, Maui, coffee farm, the Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday.
The snake, measuring 3 to 4 feet long, was reported to the Agriculture Department on Maui, and a plant quarantine inspector picked it up. It was later identified as a nonvenomous ball python.
The snake was euthanized due to its condition, the Agriculture Department said. The agency said it was not known how the snake got to the farm.
Ball pythons are constrictors, which subdue prey by coiling around and suffocating it.
Snakes can pose a serious threat to Hawaii’s environment, preying on native birds and their eggs, and are also dangerous to humans and small pets.
The state urges anyone who knows of illegal animals to call its toll-free pest hotline at 643-PEST (7378).