Slithering surprise caught in Christmas tree shipment to a Hilo store

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Employees at a shop in Hilo made an unwanted discovery while unloading a shipment of Christmas trees over the weekend.
Workers of the undisclosed location were about half way through unloading the container Saturday morning when they found a two-foot-long gopher snake.
The team immediately closed the container and contacted the Hawaii Department of Agriculture. Inspectors from Hilo’s Plant Quarantine Branch responded and captured the snake.
“Although Plant Quarantine inspectors open every container of Christmas trees and wreaths that arrive and conduct an inspection, we do not have the resources to inspect every item in each container,” said Sharon Hurd, chairperson of the Hawai’i Department of Agriculture. “We appreciate the store staff’s quick containment of the snake and our Hilo staff’s quick response.”
The state says Gopher snakes are non-venomous and kill prey by constriction and suffocation. Their diet consists of rodents, young rabbits, lizards, birds and their eggs. They pose a significant threat to Hawaii’s ecosystem and native birds as snakes have no natural predators in the islands.
The rest of the container was checked and state officials said no other snakes were found.
Before being transported to Oahu, the snake is being safeguarded in Hilo.
Agriculture officials expect 135 containers of Christmas trees and wreaths to arrive in Hawaii this season. So far, about 88 have arrived, containing just under 46,500 trees, the state said. Last year, there were 120 containers that arrived with about 59,400 trees.
Anyone with information about illegal animals should call the statewide toll-free PEST HOTLINE at 808-643-PEST (7378).
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