A Hilo resident captured a skunk on his property while trying to catch a mongoose, ending a months-long search that began in December.

The state Department of Agriculture said in a news release today that the resident, identified as Chris Owens, caught the skunk Thursday at his Keaukaha property on Laehala Street. He reportedly found the skunk in a trap he had set to catch mongoose that were raiding his chicken coop.

Owens had started setting traps last week and used teriyaki chicken as bait.

“We are fortunate that Mr. Owens was able to contain the skunk which has been eluding capture for several months,” said Sharon Hurd, chair of the state Board of Agriculture, in a statement. “Because skunks are nocturnal animals it made it more difficult for staff to track this one down. It takes all of us to protect Hawai‘i.”

DOA inspectors were contacted and retrieved the skunk, which the department said had to be euthanized to be tested for rabies at an out-of-state laboratory.

The skunk is believed to be the one stevedores spotted at Hilo Harbor on Dec. 7 and had eluded capture by agriculture department personnel.

After stevedores spotted the skunk in December, it was reported near Hilo Airport the following day. DOA personnel tried for weeks to trap the skunk there and at the nearby Hilo Transfer Station, but were unsuccessful.

On Jan. 28, the skunk was reported running around the Naniloa Golf Course on Banyan Drive, and on Feb. 1 it was reported in Keaukaha.

Skunks are prohibited in Hawaii. The DOA said they eat eggs and would pose a threat to the state’s native ground-nesting birds if they become established. They are also one of the four primary wild carriers of rabies. Hawaii is one of the few places in the world and the only state that is free of rabies.

Live skunks were spotted on Oahu in 2018, twice in 2021 and in 2022, and on Maui in 2018, 2020 and 2022.