Jackie, the Bald Eagle Who Captivated Millions From a Big Bear Nest, Dies at 14
Jackie, the bald eagle whose daily life in a Big Bear nest drew hundreds of thousands of viewers to a round-the-clock livestream, died on Monday, August 10, 2026, after weeks of intensive medical care. She was estimated to be about 14 years old. Friends of Big Bear Valley, the nonprofit that operated the nest webcam, confirmed that Jackie passed away at the Ojai Raptor Center, the wildlife facility that had been treating her since July (Variety; Friends of Big Bear Valley, Facebook).
Jackie was found grounded in July, weak and unable to fly, after a fight with younger eagles. Veterinarians later determined she may have already been ill at the time. Tests conducted by the Ojai Raptor Center showed severe anemia and inflammation, and as of July 22 she remained in critical condition (CNN, Facebook). She died away from her nest, apart from her mate, Shadow, and their two eaglets, Sandy and Luna, who were born in April and had already fledged — meaning they had grown enough to fly from the nest on their own (San Bernardino Sun; Variety).
The Ojai Raptor Center released a statement saying every decision about Jackie's care was guided by medical evidence and her welfare (Variety).
The webcam that broadcast Jackie and Shadow's lives had 822,000 YouTube subscribers and more than a million Facebook followers — an audience that turned a pair of nesting eagles into a daily ritual for viewers across the country (Variety).
The reaction to Jackie's death was immediate. Los Angeles news outlets including KNBC and KTLA covered the outpouring of support on Monday night and into Tuesday. Actress Holly Robinson Peete paid tribute, calling Jackie "regal, fierce, and deeply devoted." California Senator Adam Schiff said his Washington office had shown the nest livestream. The public mourning drew comparisons to the 2022 death of P-22, the mountain lion who had roamed Griffith Park and become a symbol of urban wildlife in Los Angeles (Variety).
Friends of Big Bear Valley, co-founded by Patricia Klous and Roman Silberfeld, built the Jackie-and-Shadow livestream into one of the most-watched wildlife cameras in the United States. A gift from Anna and Greg Brockman helped the organisation expand its conservation work, which had most recently included funding for a project called Moon Camp (Friends of Big Bear Valley).
For viewers who checked the feed each morning, Jackie was a fixed point — a bird going about the unglamorous work of incubating eggs, feeding chicks, and riding out winter storms on a branch. Her death closes a chapter for that audience. Shadow and the fledged eaglets remain, though the nest, for now, is quieter than the millions who watched it have ever known it to be.
