Bald Eaglet Dies After Hatching Last Month In Big Bear Lake

BIG BEAR VALLEY (CBSLA) – One of two bald eaglets born in the Big Bear Lake area last month has died.

Cookie, who hatched in mid-April along with his brother Simba, died Monday morning, the nonprofit group Friends of the Big Bear Valley reported on its Facebook page.

Tens of thousands of people from across the world have followed the eaglets' development on a nest cam livestream since Cookie's mother Jackie laid two eggs back in March in a tree nest perched high over Big Bear Lake. Jackie and their father Shadow have been caring for them since.

Cookie likely died of hypothermia, Friends of Big Bear said. According to the group, on Sunday night, Cookie and Simba weren't able to fully fit underneath Jackie, whose feathers had gotten wet and covered with snow due to recent stormy weather. Cookie appeared weak Monday morning before passing away.

"Cookie was not moving much and hardly breathing earlier," the group wrote. "With elevation of Big Bear, the nest timing should be more similar to Alaska with egg laying in April (not in January, February, or March). Such early egg laying at this elevation exposes them to a lot of bad weather."

The survival rate for bald eagles is only 50 percent in their first year, according to Friends of Big Bear.

In March, about 13 bald eagles were counted during the annual Inland Empire bald eagle count, which spans the five lakes in the San Bernardino National Forest and California State Park recreation areas. There were two adults and four juveniles at Big Bear Lake, one adult at Lake Arrowhead, one adult at Lake Hemet, two adults in the Lake Perris State Recreation Area and one adults and two juveniles in the Silverwood Lake State Recreation Area.

Fifteen bald eagles were spotted during last year's count.

Last February, two bald eagle eggs laid near Big Bear Lake hatched, which was also captured in a live feed. Last March, meanwhile, two bald eaglets were born in a nest on Santa Cruz Island, one of the eight Channel Islands off the coast of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties where dozens of bald eagles live.