As Jackie the famed bald eagle of Big Bear Valley in California fights for her life, a subadult female has been seen hanging around Jackie’s longtime mate Shadow. Some have taken to calling her Jolene
See Jackie, Shadow drama spark social media reactions
There have been barrage of concerned comments and well wishers online for beloved bald eagle Jackie as she recovers.
Jackie, come get your man.
A young female bald eagle has been spotted perching and preening near Shadow as his longtime mate Jackie remains in an intensive care unit 170 miles from their home in Big Bear Valley, California. Not only is the new eagle hanging around Shadow, but the group that runs the live nest cam that made the raptors famous say they believe she was involved in a fight with Jackie that immediately preceded her hospitalization.
Some of Jackie’s longtime fans are calling the new female Jolene (after an adulterous woman made famous by Dolly Parton) and tabloids are covering the new development with the same breathlessness as a celebrity cheating scandal.
“Shadow was seen sitting on a tree perch Thursday with another female eagle while his baby mama, Jackie, is recovering in the hospital,” the California Post wrote on a Facebook post promoting a story about the love triangle.
“I don’t know who has got to tell her but I know no eagle named Jolene is about to take Jackie’s spot,” Jackie fan Tracey Michelle of Indiana recently posted on TikTok. “That is Jackie’s nest and Shadow is Jackie’s man.”
Other bald eagle lovers take umbrage at the anthropomorphization of the wild birds, saying that it’s all a part of nature and that negative characterizations can be disrespectful to creatures that are just following their instincts.
While experts say it’s too early to tell if Jolene is trying to tempt Shadow to mate, the development has all bald eagle lovers wondering: How long will he wait?
What do we know about the new female?
The new female bald eagle hanging out near Jackie and Shadow’s nest is a subadult believed to be about 3.5 years old, according to Friends of Big Bear Valley, which has been running a nest cam livestreaming the birds of prey since 2015.
She’s considered a subadult because bald eagles do not reach maturity until around 5 years old, the age when they typically begin mating and laying eggs. In some cases, eagles begin to lay eggs when they’re 4, the group says.
The group believes the same female perched near Jackie in 2023 and that Jackie wasn’t acting too territorial because it wasn’t nesting season, according to Facebook post on July 26.
“Jackie was not concerned at all about the subadult perching with her,” the post says. “In fact, she continued to preen and seemed very relaxed, though glancing over at the other eagle occasionally to keep an eye on it.”
No one thought much about the subadult again until Jackie’s recent fight and hospitalization. Friends of Big Bear Valley say it’s likely that she was one of two subadults who got into a fight with Jackie and has now been hanging around the nest. Jackie has been hospitalized ever since at the Ojai Raptor Center, where she received a “life-saving blood transfusion” and has been undergoing testing and treatment for a mysterious illness that her caregivers believe preceded the fight. She remains in critical condition.
Though some have wondered if the new female is one of the offspring produced by Jackie and Shadow, Friends of Big Bear Valley believe it’s unlikely because the age doesn’t line up with any of the couple’s young.
How has Shadow reacted to the new female?
After the subadult was seen with Shadow in a perch on July 22, the male bird “had a lot to say” about it, Friends of Big Bear Valley posted.
The group did not elaborate until she was seen again with him over the course of several days. In another post, the group said that Shadow showed some defensive behavior against the subadult while his offspring, Sandy and Luna, were in their nest.
But Sandy and Luna haven’t been seen in the area for several days, which could indicate that may have “left on their life’s journey,” a milestone in every eagle’s life that typically comes about four weeks after they fledge, the group said.
If Sandy and Luna have indeed moved on, Shadow likely will become less territorial, the group says.
Shadow “is a wild and free eagle,” they said. “It is up to Shadow what direction he goes.”
How long will Shadow wait for Jackie?
Experts agree that Shadow isn’t likely to be ready to move on from his life with Jackie. The pair have been together for nearly a decade and shared eight eaglets.
“I highly doubt Shadow is going to find another mate right now because it’s outside of breeding season,” said Jennifer Cedarleaf, avian director at the Alaska Raptor Center, which has treated up to 150 bald eagles in one year. “But if something happens to Jackie and she doesn’t show up next year, he will find another mate.”
From years of observations, Friends of Big Bear Valley say that Jackie’s reproductive hormones usually kick in come December. Shadow “generally has a case of the December grumpies” until his hormones kick in at the end of the month or early January, they say.
Though most eagles mate for life, Jackie and Shadow already have lived through one love triangle. Jackie’s first mate was known as Mr. B and the two had two baby eagles in 2018. One of the eaglets died after a 24-hour rainstorm but the other, named Stormy, survived and left Big Bear that summer.
Soon after, a new male came to town, chased off Mr. B and stole Jackie’s heart. That interloper was Shadow.
Ever since, the couple have been through it all, from winter storms that dump many inches of snow to ravens raiding their nest and eating their eggs. They have “an incredible bond,” the group says.
“But again, Shadow will do what Shadow wants to,” they reminded fans who are bracing for potential heartbreak. “We have no say so in the matter.”
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.
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