WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – Update, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026: The Midwest Raptor Foundation released “Freedom” on Wednesday morning. The bald eagle’s return to the wild follows her rehabilitation from injury.
“I feel blessed to be able to do this. This is our national emblem that [was] born in Wichita,” Nate Mathews with the Midwest Raptor Foundation said of releasing “Freedom,” the one-year-old eagle who he helped to nurse back to health.
Mathews said Freedom was rescued a few months ago and has had “a long ride.”
“And seeing her power off into the sky is gonna be a big reward for us,” he said prior to the release. “She’ll go back into the wild and be our national emblem again. There’s nothing better than seeing a healthy bird be released back to the wild. It’s worth everything.”
Update: Results are in for the poll to determine the bird’s new name.
Her new name will be “Freedom.”
You can watch her release live on 12 News at 8 a.m. on Tuesday.
Coverage leading up to Freedom’s release:
A one-year-old bald eagle is preparing to return to the wild after weeks of rehabilitation care from Nate Mathews of the Midwest Raptor Foundation.
The eagle was found nearly dead by a security officer who contacted Mathews for help. When Mathews arrived, the bird was starving and unable to fly, though X-rays showed no bone injuries.
“She was starving, and she couldn’t fly, and there were no bone injuries, everything checked out x-ray wise,” Mathews said.
Recovery process
The rehabilitation required careful attention to the eagle’s diet and gradual weight restoration.
“It took several days of work to get her weight back up, you can’t feed them a lot at once, you have to bring their weight up very slowly,” Mathews said.
The turning point came when Mathews observed the eagle’s improved mobility.
“When I saw her fly up to the cage wire, I knew,” he said.
Maintaining wild instincts
Mathews emphasized the importance of limiting human contact during the recovery process to preserve the eagle’s wild nature.
“The only person that comes in here is me to feed her, we don’t want her walking up here like a chicken asking for food, we want her to be wild,” he said.
He noted that extended contact between eagles and humans can create unwanted bonds.
“If you have these eagles long enough they will bond with you as much as an eagle can,” Mathews said.
Upcoming release
Mathews plans to release the eagle next Wednesday, weather permitting, from a location significant to Wichita. The release will be covered live by 12 News.
The eagle currently has no name, and viewers are invited to suggest names through the station’s Facebook page. A poll featuring the best suggestions will determine the eagle’s name before the release.
“They’re special, that’s why we are going through all the work to do this,” Mathews said.
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