State agriculture officials recovered two illegal animals on Oahu and Kauai this past week. Illegal lizard and
snake found in islandsStar-Bulletin staff
Aloha Airlines workers at Honolulu Airport captured a 4-inch Western fence lizard Saturday in the forward cabin of a jet that arrived from John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, Calif.
The lizard, commonly called a "blue-belly" or "swift," is found in California, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Nevada. It eats insects and other arthropods and can grow up to 6 inches long.
On Monday, a man driving near Wal-Mart in Lihue spotted a 4-foot gopher snake that appeared to have been run over by a car but was still alive. He picked it up with a towel, put it in a plastic bag and gave it to police, who arrived in response to a snake sighting.
The snake was given to agriculture officials on Kauai and later died.
Gopher snakes are nonvenomous but are not generally kept as pets. They are found in North America and can grow up to 7 feet long. They eat rodents, young rabbits, lizards, bird eggs and young birds.