“We are looking forward to Dr. Bellah’s leadership and the continued success of the raptor center,” said Boosinger, who made the appointment. “He is an internationally recognized veterinary surgeon and has received numerous teaching awards.”

Dr. Bellah, a professor of small animal surgery, joined Auburn in 2003 after serving five years in private practice and 14 years at the University of Florida, where he was chief of small animal surgery. He earned his veterinary degree from Colorado State University in 1979 and received board certification in 1986 by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, of which he was president in 2002-2003.

“I’m excited about this opportunity to carry on the great tradition of raptor conservation and education at Auburn,” said Dr. Bellah. “We have a great staff that has done a remarkable job in rehabilitating birds and spreading the word about a raptor’s role in the environment.”

Dr. Bellah's specialty is general and soft-tissue surgery, and his experience includes surgery on a range of animals such as crocodiles, panthers and exotic birds for the University of Florida’s zoological medicine service. At Auburn, he is also working with the veterinary college’s oncology service.

Dr. Bellah replaces Dr. Ron Montgomery who served 16 months as interim director of the raptor center. Dr. Montgomery, an orthopedic surgeon, will return full-time to the veterinary college where he has established a new physical therapy service for animals.

“Dr. Montgomery expressed an interest in further developing his program,” Dr. Boosinger said. “He did a great job in re-establishing the center as one of the nation’s top facilities for birds of prey and he led the team effort to bring the eagles back to Jordan-Hare Stadium.”

The university’s 26-year-old golden eagle, Tiger, helped Auburn fans celebrate homecoming Oct. 9 as she made her first pregame flight in more than two years. Tiger is one of three eagles making appearances this season. The others are Spirit, a 7-year-old bald eagle, and Nova, a 5-year-old golden eagle.

The raptor center’s mission is to rehabilitate injured, ill or orphaned raptors, educate the public and scientific community, and research new aspects of raptor biomedicine. All birds are housed at the center by permission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.