Jackie, the beloved bald eagle who became an internet sensation after millions of people watched her raise her chicks through a livestream at California’s Big Bear Lake, has died.

She was 14 years old.

Jackie had been receiving treatment at the Ojai Raptor Center since the middle of July after she was found weak and unable to fly following a confrontation with two younger eagles.

When experts examined her, they discovered that Jackie was suffering from severe anemia. They believed she may have already been sick for several weeks before the fight left her unable to fly.

Despite extensive efforts to determine what was wrong, veterinarians never found a clear cause of her illness.

The team performed multiple tests, including a CT scan and a bone marrow biopsy, but the results did not provide an answer.

The raptor center said it was working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and California wildlife officials to better understand Jackie’s condition. More information about her treatment and test results is expected to be released later.

The center announced Jackie’s death in a heartbreaking statement, acknowledging the thousands of people around the world who had followed her story.

The staff said they were deeply saddened by her passing and described caring for her as an extraordinary privilege.

Jackie became a favorite through a live eagle camera

For more than a decade, people around the world had been able to watch Jackie’s life through a livestream overlooking her nest at Big Bear Lake.

The camera was first installed in October 2015, although Jackie was not the first eagle to live there. Her parents, Ricky and Lucy, occupied the nest when the livestream began.

Jackie became the star of the camera over the years.

In 2018, viewers watched as she defended her home against an intruding eagle known as Mr. B.

Not long afterward, another bald eagle named Shadow arrived and eventually became Jackie’s mate.

Their relationship turned the nest into one of the internet’s most popular wildlife livestreams.

Viewers watched the pair build their life together, defend their territory and raise multiple generations of chicks. During the pandemic, interest in the livestream grew dramatically as people searched for a peaceful connection to nature from home.

Jackie and Shadow’s final chicks

Jackie’s final breeding season also brought both heartbreak and joy.

In January, two eggs in the couple’s nest were eaten by ravens.

But Jackie did not give up.

She laid two more eggs in February, and thousands of viewers followed along as the eggs eventually hatched.

The two chicks were named Luna and Sandy.

Sandy was given the name in honor of Sandy Steers, the executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, who had recently died from cancer.

For many viewers, watching Jackie and Shadow raise their chicks became more than a wildlife experience. It created a sense of connection with a family of wild animals whose lives unfolded in front of the camera.

Jackie inspired a fight to protect her home

Jackie’s influence also extended far beyond the livestream.

Her nest and the surrounding habitat became the center of a campaign to protect the land from development.

Friends of Big Bear Valley launched a $10 million effort to purchase land near the eagles’ nest after plans emerged to develop the area.

The campaign received support from members of the local community, including an elementary school, as well as OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and his wife, Anna.

The nonprofit will now steward 63 acres of the protected land.

That effort became part of Jackie’s lasting legacy.

She was not simply an eagle people watched online. Her life helped thousands of people understand the importance of protecting wildlife and the natural spaces they depend on.

Fans mourn a very special eagle

News of Jackie’s death quickly brought an outpouring of grief from people who had followed her for years.

For some viewers, she had become a familiar part of their daily lives. They watched her survive challenges, raise chicks and share her nest with Shadow.

Now, those viewers are remembering Jackie not only for the years they spent watching her, but also for the environmental movement her story helped inspire.

Her death marks the end of an extraordinary chapter at Big Bear Lake.

But Jackie’s legacy will continue through the land that her story helped protect, the chicks she raised and the millions of people who learned to care about one remarkable bald eagle.