American Eagle Foundation
Encyclopedia
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
rehabilitation
Wildlife rehabilitation
Wildlife rehabilitation is the process of removing from the wild and caring for injured, orphaned, or sick wild animals. The goal of wildlife rehabilitation is to provide the food, housing and medical care of these animals, returning them to the wild after treatment.-Process:Rehabilitation begins...
, recovery, and breeding program
Captive breeding
Captive breedingis the process of breeding animals in human controlled environments with restricted settings, such as wildlife reserves, zoos and other conservation facilities; sometimes the process is construed to include release of individual organisms to the wild, when there is sufficient...
s.
History
The American Eagle Foundation was founded in 1985 by a group of wildlife experts and concerned citizens to help the Bald EagleBald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
return to America's skies. The American Eagle Foundation started by providing assistance with private, state, and federal Eagle rehabilitation programs. They expanded to offering full-service rehab care and facilities for the Eagle. In 1991, the American Eagle Foundation began using permanently disabled Eagles in their care for education programs. Since then, they have educated millions of people throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on conservation of the eagle.
Services
The American Eagle Foundation is a full-service rehabilitation program specializing in Bald Eagles but also houses and rehabilitates other birds of prey. They offer rehab and release programs for injured Eagles as well as housing and care for permanently disabled birds. are located and sponsored by DollywoodDollywood
Dollywood is a theme park owned by entertainer Dolly Parton and the Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation. It is located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Dollywood has 3,000 people on its payroll, making it the largest employer in that community....
and housed on the entertainment park's grounds in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Pigeon Forge is a mountain resort city in Sevier County, Tennessee, located in the southeastern United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 5,875....
.
From 2000 through 2010, the American Eagle Foundation has released 101 captive-hatched and/or orphaned Bald Eaglets from its artificial nesting tower located on Douglas Lake in Dandridge, Tennessee. Many of these young birds were captive-hatched by non-releasable permanently disabled parent eagles at the American Eagle Foundation's Dollywood-based raptor facility. The American Eagle Foundation has participated in the release of hundreds of other Bald Eaglets in other locations in cooperation with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Free flights
The American Eagle Foundation is well known for using some of the Eagles in its care to perform "free-flights during the Star Spangled Banner. The American Eagle Foundation found that people responded well to the sight of an Eagle flying from one trainer to another. Since 1991, AEF Eagles have performed over 8,000 free flights ranging from venues such as school gyms, all the way to Super Bowl and World Series games. Named in honor of the lost space shuttle crew, ChallengerChallenger (eagle)
Challenger is a non-releasable Bald Eagle in the care of the non-profit American Eagle Foundation. He is the first Bald Eagle in history trained to free fly into major sporting events during the National Anthem.-Life:...
has performed free-flights at hundreds of events.