Freedom II Revealed as Eagle Nation’s New Bald Eagle Mascot

Training is Underway for Future Public Appearances

Georgia Southern University’s new mascot, Freedom II, made her debut at the football game against Coastal Carolina at Allen E. Paulson Stadium on Nov. 15, 2025. Freedom II is a rescue from Maitland, Florida, where experts at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey discovered she had West Nile virus. At the time, she was less than a year old and the virus had taken a toll on her, damaging her nervous system and leaving her unable to sustain flight. She was also dealing with vision issues.

Once nurtured back to health, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service entrusted her care to the team at Georgia Southern University’s Center for Wildlife Education. Steve Hein, executive director of the Center for Wildlife Education and Lamar Q Ball, Jr. Raptor Center, started working with Freedom II to assess her visual acuity. The training process was all about building trust and shaping her behavior.

Progress was slow at first, but Hein kept working with her over the course of several years, hoping her vision would improve and that one day the bald eagle would be ready to step up as Freedom’s successor and take flight over Paulson Stadium. Then, April 2025, Freedom II underwent a reevaluation of her vision, and tests showed the damage to her optic nerves had mended. She was cleared for flight, and now her training is picking up speed. The goal is that, with time, Freedom II will soar high above Eagle Nation, just like her namesake. In keeping with the mission of the Wildlife Center, the next phase of Freedom II’s training will be to place her on public display at the Center on the Statesboro Campus.