Jackie rose to fame with her mate, Shadow, through Friends of Big Bear Valley’s livestreamed nest cameras, which drew millions of viewers over the past decade
Credit: Ojai Raptor Center
NEED TO KNOW
- Jackie, a bald eagle famous from the Big Bear Lake livestream of her nest, has died at age 14
- She was rescued after a territorial fight but faced health challenges during weeks of intensive care
- Jackie and her mate Shadow raised eaglets and captivated viewers worldwide with their nest activities
Jackie, the internet-famous bald eagle who charmed millions of viewers from her nest above Big Bear Lake, has died.
The Ojai Raptor Center in California announced Jackie’s death in a social media post on Monday, Aug. 10, saying the beloved bird died in the early hours of that morning after more than three weeks of intensive medical care. She was 14.
“It is with profound sadness that we share that [Jackie] passed away in the early hours of this morning, following more than three weeks of intensive medical care,” the center wrote.
According to the Washington Post, Jackie had been brought to the center on July 18 after she was found weak and unable to fly along the shores of Big Bear Lake, in the San Bernardino Mountains. Witnesses had spotted an eagle in a territorial fight with two younger eagles near the lake, and a couple later discovered Jackie grounded and called for help.
Credit: County of Los Angeles Department of Parks & Recreation
During her time in medical care, Jackie faced a series of setbacks tied to anemia and a mystery illness that caused her packed cell volume, a measure of red blood cells, to drop well below the healthy range for an eagle. Despite a life-saving blood transfusion, oxygen therapy, around-the-clock monitoring in the center’s intensive care unit, her condition continued to deteriorate.
“Throughout her time at Ojai Raptor Center, every decision was guided by the available medical evidence, her welfare, and our responsibility to do what was best for her,” the center said.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Ojai Raptor Center said it’ll release additional information on Jackie’s condition on social media following “final examinations to determine more about the specifics” of her death.
Credit: Ojai Raptor Center
Jackie had lived in Big Bear for at least 15 years and rose to fame alongside her mate, Shadow, through Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV), the nonprofit that operates a 24/7 livestream camera on the pair’s nest, perched nearly 150 feet up a tree overlooking the lake. Since the camera was installed, viewers around the world have tuned in to watch the eagles build and defend their nest, hunt and raise their young.
Dramatic highlights from Jackie and Shadow’s time as a viral power couple include when they welcomed their first eggs of 2026 in late January, only to lose both when a raven attacked the nest days later. Jackie laid again in February, and the couple went on to raise this year’s eaglets, Sandy and Luna, whose names were chosen by Big Bear Valley third graders — a local tradition.
Jackie and Shadow’s love story began in 2018, after Shadow displaced Jackie’s former mate, Mr. B, from the nest. The pair went on to weather years of ups and downs, welcoming eaglets in 2019 and 2022 and losing eggs in 2023 and 2024.
FOBBV says the focus of its work and the livestream now turns to Shadow and his care.
“We’ll see if one is around at the right time, at the right age to potentially form a bond, but we don’t want Shadow to be alone,” the nonprofit’s Kathi Voisard said, noting that “visiting eagles” have been spotted near the territory.
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