"Challenger" was blown from a wild nest as a baby during a storm about twelve years ago, 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. In 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 only bald eagle in the U.S., and the only eagle in U.S. history, that has been trained to free-fly into major league sports stadiums during the presentation of the National Anthem. He performed during the anthem at the 1997, 1999 and 2000 World Series, 1999 Fiesta Bowl, and sports events for the Atlanta Braves, Anaheim Angels, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, New York Yankees, Detroit Lions, Tennessee Titans, LSU Tigers, 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.
The link is on the right side of the page. War Eagle VI is a golden eagle that is cared for by the Southeastern Raptor Center in Auburn.