All three eaglets had successfully hatched last week, but as of Friday morning one appears to be missing. This video was broadcast during the NBC4 News at 3 p.m. on Friday, Sep. 16, 2024.
Fans of internet celebrity eagles Jackie and Shadow woke up to devastating news Friday morning when one of the couple's three eaglets appeared to be missing from the nest.
All three eaglets successfully hatched last week with the parental duo keeping them warm and well fed.
While countless fans across the country wondered what happened to the third chick, heavy snow in Big Bear made it hard for volunteers to determine the fate of the third eaglet.
“There's still a large portion of the nest that is blocked from the camera by the snow bank, an area that we can't see what's going on there,” said Sandy Steers, executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley during an interview with NBCLA.
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“The snow is not only in the nest, but it's blocking that portion of the clear nest so that the camera cannot view it. We don't have any idea what's going on,” Steers said.
It’s anyone's guess where the third eaglet is, according to Steers.
"There's all kinds of possibilities and dangers. Each nest is different, and each year is different," she explained.
Steers urged fans to be patient and treasure the experience day by day.
“We would like everybody to not assume that they know what's going on. We just have to wait and see and watch nature do what it does,” she said. “Jackie and Shadow deal with it all moment to moment and that's what we need to do ourselves.”
