Jackie, celebrity bald eagle watched by millions, dies at 14
Jackie, the Big Bear bald eagle whose life with longtime mate Shadow captivated millions of viewers online, died at age 14 after undergoing treatment for a serious illness.
They called her Queen Jackie for a reason.
By displaying a combination of grit, devotion and plenty of moxie, Jackie the bald eagle of Big Bear Lake in Southern California taught millions of fans around the world more about her species than any textbook could have.
They watched as she sat atop a clutch of eggs for 27 hours during a snowstorm, leaving only the top of her head visible. They saw her fend off predators who came close to her many eaglets and eggs over the years. And they got to witness the tender moments, like when she mated with longtime partner Shadow, perfected the couple’s nest for their coming babies every year, and when she broke down fresh fish to nourish her growing family.
For over a decade, Jackie experienced the highs and lows of life as an American bald eagle all while millions watched her on a 24/7 nest camera. The streaming video brought the wild raptor from her smalltown perch to homes from Florida all the way to New Zealand.
Along the way, she inspired joy and wonder in her human viewers and became the world’s most famous bald eagle.
Within an hour of the news on Aug. 10 that Jackie lost her battle with a mysterious illness while in the care of the Ojai Raptor Center 170 miles from her home, rain began to fall on her empty nest overlooking Big Bear Lake, tucked in a mountain range about two hours outside of Los Angeles.
Fans reflected on how much she changed their lives. Jackie died at age 14; eagles typically can live for about 15 to 30 years in the wild.
“She helped so many connect with nature, wildlife, and get through hard times,” said Karen Soikkeli, a California resident and longtime fan of Jackie’s who says watching the nest helped her cope with the death of her sister-in-law.
“The view to Jackie’s and Shadows life through the nest cam touched so many souls and brought a unique unity and connection that extended to people throughout the world,” Soikkeli told USA TODAY. “She made a huge positive difference in our world.”
Jackie has also changed the countless lives of fellow bald eagles and other birds. Because of her, conservationists and wildlife caretakers now have many millions of dollars that will go toward protecting the land where she lived and saving the lives of sick, injured and baby birds throughout California.
As those who loved her mourn the loss of Jackie, USA TODAY is looking at how she lived and how she will be remembered.
How Jackie educated people about bald eagles
The world knows who Jackie is because of a Big Bear woman named Sandy Steers. She lived half a mile from from where Jackie was born and watched her grow up, from gobbling up the food caught by her parents Ricky and Lucy to learning how to fly.
“I stood there for hours every day just watching because I was fascinated,” Steers told USA TODAY in 2023. “That got me hooked and then I just wanted to see more.”
Steers and a U.S. Forest Service employee got the idea to put up a webcam. It took two years to raise the $10,000 needed to buy and install the camera in 2015.
In 2017, the camera captured Jackie’s first romance. As thousands watched, she mated with an eagle named Mr. B, and the couple’s eggs hatched in 2018.
Not long after that, a new male came to town, chased off Mr. B and stole Jackie’s heart. That interloper was Shadow, who became Jackie’s steadfast mate right up until her hospitalization last month. Over the years viewers were rapt as they watched as Jackie and Shadow’s highs and lows, from losing more than a dozen eggs and babies to successfully raising six eaglets, including Sandy and Luna this past season.
When the camera was first installed, Steers had no idea that her labor of love would eventually do so much for bald eagle education and that her group, Friends of Big Bear Valley, would field millions of questions from viewers whose curiosity about the wild birds was insatiable.
When Steers learned that teachers across the U.S. and in other countries were showing students the eagle nest, Friends of Big Bear Valley began doing live Q&A chats with students from kindergarten to high school. Over the years, many of those students have sent in drawings, cards, and letters expressing their love for Jackie, Shadow and all their babies..
To this day local children get to choose names for eaglets born in the nest.
Jackie’s emotional impact
As people around the world learned more and more about what bald eagles are like through Jackie and Shadow, they also came to fiercely love the wild birds.
During nesting season, Roslyn Ward of Australia told USA TODAY that she is glued to the livestream of the Big Bear eagles more than 7,500 miles from her living room.
“I’m basically on the other side of the world, but I tell everybody about them,” Ward, 75, told USA TODAY in May. “I show them clips and I’ll say, ‘Have a look at this, see how much the chicks have grown.’ People think I’m nuts. … My emotions are totally invested in that nest.”
Joy Woods in Zeeland, Michigan, found Jackie and Shadow after the death of her husband and says they were “a wonderful bright spot during an otherwise difficult time.” Betty Joy in Puyallup, Washington, says that watching Jackie and Shadow’s “trials and triumphs” made her think of her late, eagle-loving dad. And Yvonne Grosjean in Zurich, Switzerland, felt such a connection with Jackie that she thought of her as a pet.
“Jackie and Shadow have shown me how powerful love can be for wildlife,” Jackie fan Taylor Pizzo wrote on a Facebook post about the eagle’s death on Aug. 10. “I also am thankful that we have had the opportunity to feel emotion and create a connection with something so beautiful.”
She said opportunities like the Big Bear eagle cam give people an important window into wildlife “so we can continue to remember that we share this Earth.”
She added: “Thank you Jackie for showing us that we are capable of this type of love.”
How love for Jackie inspired millions of dollars in donations
Jackie not only educated the public and spread joy and wonder among her viewers, but she inspired people around the world to donate millions of dollars to protect an area within two miles of her nest known as Moon Camp.
Friends of Big Bear Valley raised $10 million over many months to buy the property and permanently protect it from developers. A $5.5 million donation from OpenAI founder Greg Brockman and his wife Anna came amid Jackie’s hospitalization and was the key to the fundraiser crossing the finish line.
“Like many people around the world, we love watching them be amazing partners to one another and raise their young,” Anna Brockman said last month. “They inspire perseverance and a sense of connectedness to something greater, to nature.”
Also during Jackie’s battle to live, her caregivers at the Ojai Raptor Center saw donations pour in from concerned fans across the globe. The center has been inundated with questions from the public and media requests durng Jackie’s hospitalization, and hasn’t released just how much they’ve raised but many Jackie fans vowed to make further donations in her name following her death.
The donations from Jackie’s fans will go toward helping the hundreds of wild birds the raptor center cares for every year. The donations protecting her territory from development will help the other eagles of Big Bear thrive and create future generations.”Fly free, sweet Jackie, you have opened the eyes of millions of people around the globe and with your story, have saved Big Bear Valley from development,” Jackie fan Lisa Anne Stella of Grafton, Ohio, wrote on a Facebook post about the eagle’s death on Aug. 10.
“I have enjoyed, been educated and awe-struck by the fascinating and wonderful world of these beautiful majestic eagles,” she continued. “Thank you, Jackie.”
Contributing: Rene Ray De La Cruz, Victorville Daily Press
Amanda Lee Myers is a senior crime reporter who covers the death penalty, cold case investigations, breaking news − and sometimes eagles − for USA TODAY. Follow her on X at @amandaleeusat