(WBIR-Pigeon Forge) On this Memorial Day, as we honor our nation's fallen heroes, many Americans are feeling especially patriotic.
So it's a good day to check in on some of the symbols of this great county, the American bald eagles who live at the American Eagle Foundation at Dollywood.
Non-releasable bald eagles Independence and Franklin have successfully raised 29 eaglets that have been released into the wild. This year, Independence laid three eggs, but unfortunately one was broken and the other two never hatched. But the pair still get to be parents!
They are fostering an eaglet that was hatched from an egg produced by another pair of eagles, Isaiah and Mrs. Jefferson. Staff members found the egg on the ground of the Eagle Mountain Sanctuary in March and transferred it to an incubation room, where it hatched 36 days later on May 6.
Independence and Franklin have accepted the little guy as their own, and are caring for him.
You can watch the eaglet grow on the AEF Eagle Cam.
Also on the website, you can see the wild nest of Lady Independence, who was named after her mother. She was released into the wild in 2007 at 13 weeks old after being born at the AEF. She found a mate, and for the past four years has been nesting near Dollywood, raising seven eaglets. She and her mate currently have three eaglets that are expected to fledge in a few weeks.
