The world famous bald eagle couple was making headlines again as of late, and this time, it was because one of them had gone missing.
California’s Big Bear Lake is home to two certifiable celebrities: Jackie and Shadow. People on the internet have fallen in love with the pair of bald eagles ever since Friends of Big Bear Valley set up a nature camera facing towards their nest. The nonprofit is the one that set up the camera on the nest, which Jackie and Shadow have been utilizing it to birth many eaglets in the past couple of years.
It was earlier this year in April that the bald eagle couple welcomed two eaglets into the world on Easter weekend (weeks after their set of eggs laid months earlier were ravaged by ravens). And all was well with the bald eagle family since then, until a couple of days ago when Jackie went missing.
Friends of Big Bear Valley shared videos of the nest, and Jackie was nowhere to be seen. That prompted a multitude of “Where’s Jackie” comments, and after a few days, even the nonprofit became concerned. Since baldies are very habitual, it was very out of the norm for Jackie to not return to the nest… and many hypothesized that she may have been injured, rendering her unable to make it back to the nest.
Those concerns were warranted, because yesterday, Jackie was finally found suffering from an injury. Some witnesses claim that she got in a spar with a younger eagle, and suffered an injury that limited her flying ability. The National Park News Instagram account shared a video of the eagle believe to be Jackie swimming through the water, and said she had been taken to a rehab facility:
“Jackie has been found! The beloved bald eagle had not been seen for several days on the live cameras at the nest she shares with Shadow in California’s Big Bear Valley. But new video from the County of Los Angeles showed a rescued eagle, that is ‘likely’ Jackie, according to Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV), which monitors Jackie and Shadow closely. It’s not clear what exactly happened with Jackie but people did witness her in an altercation with subadult eagles and struggling to fly. Heal up soon, Jackie! Our thoughts are with you!”
Sad to see she’s injured, but happy to hear that she’s getting the help she needs.
FOBBV later updated their Facebook page, saying that the female bald eagle was being taken care of by the best rehab facility she could be in. There have been no further updates, but it certainly sounds like Jackie will be fixed up and ready to return to her nest in due time.
Here’s Friends of Big Bear Valley’s statement:
“She is in the best place she can be and getting the care she needs. We have not received any updates but were assured by the facility they will contact us when they have information.”
Get well soon, Jackie!
