Owl stows away for two-week trip on Royal Caribbean cruise ship

Wildlife officials in Florida said an owl was successfully captured after stowing away aboard a cruise ship and joining passengers for their two-week holiday to Mexico.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said wildlife biologist Ricardo Zambrano responded to Royal Caribbean International's Symphony of the Seas cruise ship in Miami after the ship's crew reported a burrowing owl had been spotted on numerous occasions during the vessel's two-week trip to Mexico and back.

"Ricardo only had a one-hour window of time between the passengers disembarking and new passengers coming aboard for their week-long vacation to Mexico," the FWC said in a Facebook post.

Initial attempts to capture the owl caused the bird to flee to new perches, but the crew was eventually able to distract the avian for long enough to allow Zambrano to capture it in a net.

"After the amazing rescue, the cute little stowaway was safely assisted with the disembarkation process. He had nothing to claim in customs," the post said.

The owl appeared to be in good health, but was taken to the South Florida Wildlife Center for examination and observation.