Travelling owl: Man drives hours with bird in truck’s grille

NAPLES, Fla. — A man moving from Alabama to southwest Florida travelled hundreds of miles with an owl stuck in his truck’s grille. The owl survived.

Torie Gray said he saw a vehicle ahead of him swerve on Interstate 75 to avoid the great horned owl. But somehow he hit it and it became lodged in the truck.

Gray said he wasn’t aware of the situation until he got to Naples, where he plans to live. Gray says he saw the damage to his vehicle and the owl inside, but he wasn’t sure it was still alive.

Gray called the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, which sent a volunteer to help dislodge the bird.

Eventually they did, and both men marveled that the owl was in good shape. Gray said the bird did more damage to the truck than to itself.

“Nobody knows how it is alive. He had lost a few feathers, but he was pretty alert,” said Tim Thompson, volunteer at the conservancy. “Every single person was shocked. They can’t believe it. I think it is just an amazing story.”

The Associated Press