Thursday, January 29, 2009

Challenger, American Eagle

I had the subject of my blog and my underwater art all set, and then someone sent me this wonderful video about a bald eagle named Challenger (in honor of the lost space crew and shuttle). I wanted to share this video with you.

Challenger was blown out of a nest in Louisiana in the late 1980's and was hand raised. He has been declared "non-releasable" by federal wildlife authories, because he is "human imprinted". The American Eagle Foundation has trained him to perform educational free-flight demonstrations at high profile events.

Challenger has learned to free-fly into stadiums, arenas and ballrooms at the playing of the Star Spangled Banner.
He has met 4 US presidents and his life story is told in a children's storybook titled, "Challenger, America's Favorite Eagle."

When I watched the video of Challenger flying and listened to the song, I welled up with so much pride for our United States that I cried through the whole thing.

I will let you play it for yourself. Challenger

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