Remains of famed eagle Jackie will go to tribes. Some fans are fighting it
When celebrity bald eagle Jackie died this month, Sandra Sehl didn’t know what would happen to her remains.
Like many, Sehl, 53, was a devoted fan of the raptor and her mate, Shadow, who were made world-famous by a nonstop livestream of their nest. The Connecticut resident began watching about seven years ago, and the duo helped deliver her through difficult times, including the death of her mother — a past president of the Hartford Audubon Society who imparted a love of bird-watching to her daughter.
Sehl learned that Jackie would be sent to the National Eagle Repository — as are virtually all recovered carcasses of bald and golden eagles in the country. In the early 1970s, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established the facility to provide members of federally recognized Native American tribes with eagle feathers, parts and whole bodies for religious use.
It’s not what Sehl wants for Jackie — and she’s not alone. News of Jackie’s fate has divided her millions-strong fan base. Some, like Sehl, want Jackie to go back to her natal digs in Big Bear. Yet many others, including the nonprofit that runs the livestream, believe her rightful place is in tribal hands.
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