Auburn’s Famous Eagle Flights
For more than two decades, Auburn home football games have featured an iconic War Eagle soaring over the cheering stadium. All this summer and fall, The Auburn University Raptor Center celebrates the 25th anniversary of football’s most famous flight.
In 2016, an injured golden eagle was found near Selma, Ala. She was in a daze and scared, and her injured wing meant she couldn’t fly. The eagle was brought to the Auburn University Raptor Center (AURC), where experts from the center, the College of Veterinary Medicine and student volunteers began her long rehabilitation.
Over time her strength returned, though it was clear that she could never again survive in the wild. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t fly again, for her story in the air was only beginning.
Two years after she was found dazed and injured, that same golden eagle soared over Jordan-Hare Stadium in front of nearly 90,000 screaming fans. Now named Aurea, the famous eagle quickly became a symbol of the Auburn spirit to fans everywhere.