The Southeastern Raptor Center and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources are releasing a bald eagle back into the wild on June 16 at 10 a.m. (EST) near Tifton, Ga.  The public is invited to view the release at the Paradise Public Fishing Area.

The Southeastern Raptor Center, part of Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, received the immature bald eagle on March 2. Personnel with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources found the injured bird that is approximately two to three years of age. The bird was malnourished and very weak.

“It was too weak to perch,” said Liz Crandall, a veterinary technician with the Raptor Center. With an adequate diet and exercise, the bird improved significantly. “It was placed in a flight aviary with an adult eagle. Now that the eagle is in good body condition and ready to be released, we will take it back to the Paradise Public Fishing Area where it was originally found.”

The mission of the Southeastern Raptor Center is to rehabilitate injured or orphaned raptors, and to educate the public. For more information, visit vetmed.auburn.edu/raptor.

Contact: Tara Lanier, College of Veterinary Medicine, 334-844-3698, or

Noel Jackson, Paradise PFA, 229-533-4792

Directions from Tifton: East on U.S. Highway 82 for 8 miles to Brookfield. Turn right onto Whitley Road and travel approximately 100 yards; take first left onto Brookfield-Nashville Road and travel 1.5 miles. Entrance to area is on left.