A motorist on Kaua'i turned the illegal snake over to police after spotting it on an access road to the Lihu'e Wal-Mart store. The snake apparently had been run over by a vehicle but was still alive, said Agriculture Department animal specialist Domingo Cravalho.

The snake died after being handed over to a department inspector. Cravalho said the snake was 2 to 3 years old and could have grown to 7 feet.

"The biologist who looked at it said it appeared to have been a pet snake that escaped because of it being well-fed," Cravalho said. "Usually a feral snake like that would not be as healthy or as robust as it was."

Gopher snakes are found in North America and feed on small rodents, young rabbits, lizards, and birds and their eggs. Cravalho said the snake could have posed problems to the island's native wildlife.

Gopher snakes aren't popular in the pet trade and are rarely found in Hawai'i, according to Cravalho.

The Western fence lizard was found in the forward cabin of an Aloha Airlines jet that arrived in Honolulu from Santa Ana, Calif. The lizard, of a species commonly known as a "blue bellies" or "swifts," was captured by airline employees.

Cravalho said the lizard can grow to 6 inches and is found in Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Southern California. Western fence lizards eat insects and could be harmful to native birds that rely on insects for food, he said.