A snake was discovered Saturday in a shipment of Christmas trees as it was being unloaded at a store in Hilo.
Store staff opened a container full of Christmas trees, unloaded about half of the trees, and then saw the small snake. After spotting the slithery creature, they shut the container and notified the Hawaii Department of Agriculture.
HDOA inspectors from the Plant Quarantine Branch captured the two-foot-long reptile, identifying it as a non-venomous gopher snake.
Inspectors checked every Christmas tree and the container, but no other snakes were found.
“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 Hawaii Department of Agriculture in a statement. “We appreciate the store staff’s quick containment of the snake and our Hilo staff’s quick response.”
HDOA will transport the snake from Hilo to Honolulu. "The snake may be used for educational purposes, transferred to a municipal zoo or relocated to an appropriate facility on the mainland," a HDOA spokesperson told Spectrum News Hawaii.
Gopher snakes are from North America and can grow to be about seven feet. They eat small rodents, young rabbits, lizards, birds, and their eggs. Prey is killed by constriction and suffocation.
In Hawaii, it is illegal to own a pet snake or bring a snake to the islands. There are no snakes in Hawaii, except for the brahminy blind snake, a small non-venomous snake from Asia and Africa that resembles an earthworm. Snakes and large reptiles pose a threat to the ecosystem, since they have no natural predators.
HDOA expects 135 containers of Christmas trees and wreaths to arrive in Hawaii this year. So far, about 88 containers have arrived with 46,450 trees.