With Big Bear eagle Jackie suffering from an unknown malady in intensive care for nearly a week, fans of the Internet-famous bird and her mate Shadow were sorely in need of a silver lining — and just got one.
On Friday, Friends of Big Bear Valley, a nonprofit that monitors the eagles, announced that OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and his wife Anna donated $5.5 million to a fundraiser to buy land slated for development near the pair’s nest.
The infusion of cash means the fundraising goal of $10 million is met.
“I’m so happy for this,” said Jenny Voisard, website and media manager for Friends of Big Bear Valley. “I think we needed a little bit of good news given Jackie’s situation.”
The Brockmans are among the thousands across the globe who have watched Jackie and Shadow bond and raise chicks via webcams installed by the nonprofit, Anna Brockman said in a statement.
“They inspire perseverance and a sense of connectedness to something greater, to nature,” she said. “We are proud to be supportive.”
The nonprofit has long maintained that the land — reportedly the last undeveloped sliver of Big Bear Lake’s shoreline — represents critical foraging habitat for the eagles. Last September, the San Bernardino Board of Supervisors approved a 50-home and 55-slip marina project on it called Moon Camp, with county officials saying it wouldn’t harm the raptors.
While the nonprofit is best known for turning Jackie and Shadow into celebrities by livestreaming their nest, it grew out of an effort to stop the same project 25 years ago. In February, it launched an ambitious fundraiser to prevent the development once and for all.
Even with 25,000 donations, it didn’t crack the halfway mark. Most of them were small. Then just before the Fourth of July, Anna Brockman reached out to the nonprofit through a representative, Voisard said. After several calls, the generous gift was set.
But before it was publicly announced, tragedy struck the nest. According to ABC 7, a couple spotted Jackie sparring with two younger eagles on the lake shore last Friday. When she hadn’t returned to the nest that night, they reached out for help — leading to her rescue and transfer to the Ojai Raptor Center.
Since then, she’s undergone a battery of tests and even received a live-saving blood transfusion. Yet experts are still trying to determine the cause of her condition, which includes severe anemia. So far, the raptor center says it has ruled out lead poisoning and the presence of swallowed objects, among other things. As of Thursday, she was in critical condition and receiving intensive care, though she’d regained some of her feisty energy. The center expects to provide an update again Monday, “[i]f all goes according to plan.”
As fans wait on tenderhooks for more health updates, many are celebrating the fundraising win.
“Who’s cutting onions??” one commenter wrote on Facebook, along with a crying emoji.
Someone replied, “I think we all are.”
With all the donations, the San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust can purchase the parcel, as well as cover closing costs, taxes, legal fees and some maintenance of the land.
Previously, the land trust was going to transfer the land to the U.S. Forest Service but has opted not to do that, Voisard said. She suggested they no longer trust federal officials to protect it.
Sandy Steers, former executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, helped broker the deal between the land trust and developers. She passed away shortly before the fundraiser launched, leaving her conservation mission in the hands of her colleagues and supporters.
“I know she’s proud and happy,” Voisard said.
“Now we just want Jackie to come home and enjoy her Moon Camp.”
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