Owl takes two week cruise onboard Royal Caribbean ship

Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas had an elusive stowaway for nearly two weeks as the ship cruised the Caribbean.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Facebook page, a Burrowing Owl hitched a ride for an extended vacation onboard the ship. Officials believe the bird boarded the ship almost two weeks ago after various sightings and pictures were posted on the internet and reported to ship officials.

Once the owl was located, the ship welcomed Florida Fish and Wildlife biologists onboard to help safely relocate the traveling animal.

Credit: MyFWC Florida Fish and Wildlife on Facebook

Crews only had an hour between guests disembarking the ship in Florida and new guests embarking to try to catch the owl with an empty ship.

With the help of the Symphony of the Seas' crew, officials were able to capture the owl and transport it off the ship.

"With some of the crew’s help, Ricardo (biologist) placed mist nets around the owl’s perch of choice, the exit signs by the door. Two unsuccessful attempts later, the owl was now sitting on the balcony of a 10th story cabin," said Florida Fish and Wildlife on Facebook. "The crew stood below making noise to distract the owl as Ricardo snuck up and safely netted the owl from the railing."

Credit: MyFWC Florida Fish and Wildlife on Facebook

Burrowing owls are listed as an endangered species so the relocation of this animal is a great success for conservation of the group of owls.

Symphony of the Seas is an Oasis class vessel for Royal Caribbean. This family of ship features an area known as Central Park (pictured), a neighborhood that includes restaurants, bars, and green space with trees and plants. This could have been a reason for the owl making itself at home onboard for such a duration of time and being able to hide from crew on previous searches of the vessel.

To view the full post, visit the MYFWC Florida Fish and Wildlife Facebook page.