Many Auburn fans have come to know and love the legendary “War Eagle” battle cry. Legend has it “War Eagle” has been a symbol of Auburn University since 1892, and thanks to the Auburn University Raptor Center, Auburn fans can still revel in the War Eagle tradition to this day.
To delve deeper into the War Eagle legend, check out the Plainsman’s March 27, 1959 publication. This marked the first publication about the War Eagle legend in Plainsman history.
Today, the Raptor Center is a rehabilitation and education facility that is responsible for caring for the War Eagles and other raptors and educating others about raptors. Amanda Sweeney, raptor specialist at the Raptor center, is in charge of the volunteer program and the training of the education birds.
The AURC receives about 300 injured raptors every year and the rehabilitation facility is in charge of those raptors.
“The goal is to rehabilitate those birds, get them healthy, and release them back into the wild,” Sweeney said.
Education is also a major focus of the center, which is what Sweeney primarily works on.
“We are trying to inspire people to care more about these raptors and to want to protect them and prevent the reasons we're getting in a lot of the birds to our rehabilitation center,” Sweeney said.
The center has 24 raptors that are unable to be released, so they serve as education ambassadors. Two of the raptors, Independence and Aurea War Eagle VIII, are the eagles that currently fly at games. The center travels and hosts shows, and with the help of the education ambassadors, they are able to promote awareness and education about raptors.
In a recent surprise appearance at a Philadelphia Eagles game on Sept. 14, Independence had the unique opportunity to take flight before the game at the Lincoln Financial Field.
“It was a great opportunity for us to go up there and fly her there,” Sweeney said. “She rocked it.”
To prepare for flights in the Jordan-Hare Stadium on game day, the eagles practice five days. It takes a significant amount of work to train the eagles, but thanks to all the hard workers at the AURC and the eagles themselves, Auburn fans are able to witness the spectacular sight of the pregame flight.
Sweeney explained the training process saying “it's really about repetition, positive reinforcement, and trust. The eagles know the routine, they know they can trust us, and that we are going to provide them with those food rewards.”
Andrew Hopkins, coordinator for raptor administration, explained that the center uses a leather lure to train the eagles.
“When the Eagles come down to the lure, they get a food reward. ” Hopkins said. “We make a unique design on the lures for each and every game and we auction it off after the game.”
Interestingly, the War Eagle did not start flying in the Jordan-Hare stadium until Aug. 31 2000.
“It's a relatively new tradition of us flying the Eagles in the stadium,” Hopkins said. “There was actually a fraternity that took care of the Eagles —Alpha Phi Omega — until the year 2000.”
AURC does its best to make sure all the raptors, including the eagles, are taken care of at all times.
“You don't want anything negative to occur because these birds do remember and we want them to willingly come to us, willingly go to shows, willingly train and really they have that option. They all have the choice and they choose to participate in all this training because they know that they can trust us, we are not gonna hurt them, and they are gonna get that food reward,” Sweeney said.
Everyone is welcomed to come to the Raptor Center to visit and learn more about their programs.
“It is important to us that people know that they can come out to see us, come to one of our shows, learn a lot more, see these birds in person, and help us reach our goals,” Sweeney said
For those interested in witnessing the eagles up close and gaining insight about what the Raptor Center does, attending the Football Fans and Feathers presentations is an excellent opportunity.
“The shows are open to the public and we have them right here in our amphitheater at 4pm on the Friday's before home football games,” Hopkins said.
Another way to get involved is to volunteer. Sweeney’s journey with the Raptor Center first began as a volunteer when she came to Auburn and she fell in love. Today, she is in charge of the volunteer program.
“We have a really unique program here where our student volunteers get to learn how to work with these birds and learn how to train them,” Sweeney said.
So, Auburn fans, the next time you witness the majestic War Eagle take flight before a game, remember the tireless efforts of the AURC that make this tradition possible.
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