Jackie \u2013 the beloved bald eagle at California\u2019s Big Bear Lake whose livestream was followed by millions of viewers as she birthed and raised chicks \u2013 died on Monday due to a mysterious illness. She was 14.<\/p>\n
Jackie had been receiving treatment at the Ojai Raptor Center since mid-July when she was found weak and unable to fly after a scuffle with two younger eagles. Experts at the center had discovered that she was suffering from severe anemia, and suspected she had been sick for weeks before the fight grounded her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know this news will be deeply felt by the many thousands of people around the world who have followed her journey, hoped alongside us, prayed for her, and supported the people caring for her,\u201d the raptor center staff wrote in an Instagram post announcing Jackie\u2019s death. \u201cOur team is heartbroken. It has been an extraordinary privilege to care for her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite administering a number of tests including a CT scan and bone marrow biopsy, experts at the center said they could not determine what had sickened Jackie.<\/p>\n
The center is in consultation with the US and California fish and wildlife services about Jackie\u2019s condition, and \u201cwill provide a more comprehensive statement including additional information on her treatments and test results\u201d at a later date, it said.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0public had been watching\u00a0Jackie\u2019s nest since a livestream was first set up in October 2015 \u2013 it was then inhabited by her parents, Ricky and Lucy. In 2018, the public watched as Jackie defended her nest against an intruder, dubbed Mr B. Then, Shadow \u2013 the male eagle who became her mate \u2013 moved in. Greater and greater numbers of viewers tuned in during the pandemic to watch the couple build their lives together and welcome several clutches of fluffy hatchlings.<\/p>\n
In January, the couple\u2019s clutch of two eggs was eaten by ravens. Jackie laid two more eggs in February, and thousands watched as the couple\u00a0hatched their two youngest\u00a0\u2013 Luna and Sandy. The latter was named after Sandy Steers, the executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, who had recently\u00a0died\u00a0from cancer.<\/p>\n
The avian couple inspired the public to fight for the environment they inhabited. The Friends of Big Bear Lake launched a $10m effort to buy land near the eagles\u2019 nest which had been slated for development \u2013 drawing support from the local elementary school, as well as from OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and his wife, Anna. The non-profit will now steward 63 acres of the land.<\/p>\n
Fans of Jackie shared messages of grief following the news of her death \u2013 and celebrated her legacy of inspiring a massive public campaign for preserving natural habitat.<\/p>\n