Greetings to all,
First, I am one of the hundreds of thousands of people who has been grieving the death of Jackie, the world-famous bald eagle of Big Bear Valley.
For more than two years, I followed Jackie and her mate, Shadow—their courtship, their devotion to their nest, the long hours spent protecting their eggs, and eventually the raising of their eaglets. Like so many people around the world, I became emotionally invested in this remarkable little eagle family.
When Jackie died, I was surprised by the depth of my grief. I knew she was a wild eagle I had never touched and never met. Yet she had become part of the rhythm of my life. And as I watched Shadow return to the places they had shared, calling for her, something much more personal began to surface.
I realized that I wasn’t grieving only for Jackie.
Her death had opened a door to other losses—some recent, some decades old, and some I thought I had already made peace with.
Perhaps that is one of the strange things about grief: we may think we are grieving one loss, only to discover that grief has a much longer memory.
One story in particular touched my heart. A woman in Ukraine wrote that she had discovered Jackie and Shadow through the internet while living through the war. Between the bombings, she would watch these two eagles going about the ancient rhythms of life—building their nest, caring for their eggs, raising their young, simply being together.
In a world filled with destruction, Jackie and Shadow gave her a small window into something beautiful and enduring. For a little while, she could turn away from the sounds and images of war and watch life instead.
Her story helped me understand why hundreds of thousands of people became attached to these eagles. We weren’t simply watching a wildlife camera. We were each bringing our own lives to that nest—our fears, our losses, our hopes, our need for something beautiful to continue.
And perhaps that is why Jackie’s death has touched so many people so deeply.
She was an eagle.
But for many of us, she had also quietly become a symbol of life continuing in the midst of uncertainty.
Now, a few pictures collected over the week.
Having a great friend can change your perspective!
About relativity…
I remember these days: 9 people (7 girls) with 1 bathroom. We survived.
LIVE with PASSION, PURPOSE, and DELIGHT!
Danielle J. Duperret, ND/PhD — Bridging Science, Consciousness, and Human Resilience
📞Phone: 702-900-6730
📧 Email: danielle@healthwisdomacademy.com
🌐Website: Health Wisdom Academy
🎤Speaker Page: Speaking
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