SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Conservation Fund Participates in Bald Eagle Release

ORLANDO, Fla. (May 14, 2010) – The SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Conservation Fund participated in the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey release of an American Bald eagle this morning. This was the 396th rehabilitated bald eagle the Center has released since its inception in 1979.

Rob Yordi, a representative for the Fund, released the bald eagle from the Palm Cemetery in Winter Park Fla., very close to the location of its rescue in January earlier this year. The adult female eagle had puncture wounds and a fractured coracoid - a bone in its right shoulder - that Center specialists believe it obtained during a territory fight with another eagle.

“The SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund is proud to have provided $60,000 in grants to the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey since 2004,” said Yordi. “The Center’s work to rescue, rehabilitate and return birds of prey to the wild and to protect their habitat is vital to Florida’s ecosystems and the wide range of species in the region.”

The SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit private foundation which focuses its resources in four strategic areas: Species Research, Habitat Protection, Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation, and Conservation Education. Since its launch, the Fund has granted over $6 million to more than 500 projects in countries around the world. The Fund’s grantees are diverse, including global organizations such as World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, and Conservation International along with smaller, grassroots organizations. For more information, visit http://www.swbg-conservationfund.org/.