Jackie, a bald eagle who endeared herself to bird-watching fans across the U.S. and around the world after appearing regularly on a livestream out of Big Bear Valley, California, has died after a prolonged illness.
California’s Ojai Raptor Center announced Jackie’s death in an emotional Instagram post on Monday afternoon.
“Over the past several days, her condition continued to deteriorate despite intensive treatment and the combined efforts of our veterinary team and consulting specialists,” the center explained. “She remained critically ill, receiving oxygen therapy, supportive treatment, and around-the-clock monitoring in our intensive care unit.”
Noting that Jackie’s remains had been transferred to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, they wrote: “We 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.”
“Our team is heartbroken,” the raptor center added. “It has been an extraordinary privilege to care for her.”
Watch a CBS News report on Jackie that aired Aug. 9 below.
Described by the Los Angeles Times as “arguably the world’s most famous bald eagle,” Jackie was believed to have hatched around 2012, making her 14 years old. She rose to fame in 2015 when Friends of Big Bear Valley, a California-based environmental nonprofit, installed a webcam near the nest she occupied with a male eagle, dubbed Mr. B.
In 2018, a second male eagle ― who came to be known as Shadow ―began inhabiting the nest, after which Mr. B fled. Over the years, Jackie and Shadow raised numerous eaglet chicks together, the two youngest of whom fledged this summer.
Jackie was discovered grounded near Big Bear Lake on July 17 after what Friends of Big Bear Valley officials described to USA Today as an “altercation” with two subadult eagles. After she was rescued, however, Ojai Raptor Center staff members said they discovered she had several underlying health issues, including “severe anemia and inflammation affecting the kidneys.”
Jackie underwent a “life-saving” blood transfusion on July 20 and initially showed signs of improvement. However, her health soon took a turn for the worse, and by Sunday, the vet team administering her treatment described her condition as “unstable” and “extremely serious.”