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* challenger *
Photo by: Eleanor Davies
©American Eagle Foundation
International rights reserved




"Challenger" is a non-releasable
bald eagle cared for by the non-
profit American Eagle Foundation
(formerly named national
Foundation to Protect America's
Eagles), headquartered at
Dollywood in Pigeon Forge,
Tennessee.

In early 1989, Challenger was
blown from a wild nest as a baby
during a storm, and was hand
raised by the people who found
him. Unfortunately, he experienced
too much human contact at a very
young age and became highly "human
socialized." As a result,
"Challenger" thinks he's a person,
and cannot survive on his own in
the wild.

He was released into the wild
twice during the summer of 1989.
After his second release into the
wild, "Challenger" was rescued
from a close encounter with death.
He had landed near a man to beg
for food, and almost got beat up
by that person with a stick.
Another man was "Challenger's"
guardian angel that day. He
stopped the stick-wielding human
from doing bodily harm to the
eagle. This had been the third
time Challenger had sought out
people looking for food when he
became hungry, so he was placed
under the care of the American
Eagle Foundation for educational
purposes by federal and state fish
& wildlife agencies.

"Challenger" is named in honor of
the crew of the space shuttle, and
has been making educational
appearances throughout the country
since 1993. Acting as an
ambassador for his species,
"Challenger" has raised a great
level of national public awareness
about the need to restore and
protect America's eagles, natural
resources and environment. The
bald eagle is still a "threatened"
species throughout the lower 48
states, and much of its nesting
and feeding habitat is being
encroached upon by humans.

"Challenger" is the first bald
eagle in U.S. history trained to
free-fly into major league sports
stadiums during the presentation
of the National Anthem. He has
participated in five MLB World
Series (2003, 2002, 2001, 2000,
1998), three NFL Pro-Bowls (2004,
2003, 2002), 1999 Fiesta Bowl, and
2005 NCAA Men’s Final Four
Basketball Tournament, as well as
sports events for the Atlanta
Braves, San Francisco Giants,
Green Bay Packers, Anaheim Angels,
Buffalo Bills, Florida Marlins,
Indianapolis Colts, Texas Rangers,
Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota
Vikings, Kansas City Royals, New
York Yankees, Detroit Lions,
Tennessee Titans, LSU Tigers,
Florida Seminoles, Georgia
Southern Eagles, Carson-Newman
Eagles, and University of
Tennessee Volunteers.

He has also performed free-flight
demonstrations at the Bass Masters
Classic, Para-Olympic Games
opening ceremony at Olympic
Stadium in Atlanta, Disney's
Animal kingdom opening ceremony,
World War II Memorial
groundbreaking ceremony, White
House to mention a few. In
addition, he as accompanied the
Olympic Flag on a special tour
around the State of Georgia, and
has appeared on numerous national
TV shows, including The David
Letterman Show, CBS This Morning
and Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures.