Search team looks for snake on Maui

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui Bureau

WAILUKU, Maui — A multi-agency "Rapid Response Team" searched for a snake in the Hana wilderness last night in response to a sighting there on Tuesday.

"At this stage, we have a credible report of a snake sighting but are not sure exactly what type of snake this may be," Peter Young, chairman of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, said in a written statement. "We will be intensively searching in the area where the snake was seen."

Maui police received a call Tuesday night from a resident who reported seeing a 3-foot snake crossing Hana Highway.

In response, a specially trained team of federal, state, county and community representatives was mobilized.

The team is part of a recently developed Rapid Response Plan that allows for a swift response to credible reports of snakes. Several members of the team have traveled to Guam for training in snake detection.

Joining the team on Maui will be three people from the U.S. Geological Survey office on Guam and one person from the Northern Mariana Islands.

Officials began clearing trails and roadsides yesterday afternoon in preparation for last night's search. Traps using dead mice as bait were also being used last night.

Young said that if snakes were to become established in Hawai'i, where they are not native and have no natural predators, it would be a severe threat to the Islands' environment, economy and lifestyle.

There were 236 credible snake sightings in Hawai'i between 1990 and 2000.

Snake reports can be made to the Pest Hotline, 586-PEST (7378). Captive snakes can be surrendered under the state's amnesty program.

Reach Timothy Hurley at (808) 244-4880 or thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com.