UPDATED: Eaglet E24 sickens, dies unexpectedly; death of E25 follows
When you watch the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam, you see the best Mother Nature has to offer.
Fans worldwide see North Fort Myers’ most famous eagle pair re-build their nest, lay eggs, nurture their brood as they hatch and then care for their young until they are able to fledge and survive on their own.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature has a darker side.
And on Sunday, viewers saw E24 pass away following a short illness. The death of E25 followed early Tuesday when the young eagle started to have seizures similar to its sibling at around 3 a.m. and then fell from the nest.
“We have lost E25. CROW was able to get on the ground with a vet to try and save the fallen eaglet but it has succumbed to the same symptoms as E24 and will be taken to the clinic for a full necropsy,” Southwest Florida Eagle Cam offials said on the website.
E24 was showing signs of distress Sunday evening around 6:41 p.m., said Virginia Pritchett-McSpadden, founder of the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam, which show the doings in and around the nest on the Pritchett property off Bayshore Road.
The eaglet succumbed quickly.
E24 was 43 days old, about halfway to the time eaglets fledge and about the time they were able to feed themselves. Pritchett-McSpadden said there are a lot more questions than answers.
“I don’t want to comment or speculate. We’re not sure what happened. We’re in uncharted territory. We’ve never seen anything like this before,” Pritchett-McSpadden said. “We’re watching and waiting to see like everyone else.”
Pritchett-McSpadden said she has been contacting local and state wildlife officials to see if they could conduct a necropsy. There are no answers on that.
As it is, E24 remains in the nest and it is unknown what will happen next. The eagle cam is still showing the nest, only with special attention focused on E25 and trying not to show much on E24 to try to be respectful to the viewers.
“In the past we’ve had some sad events and we always show Mother Nature at its best and worst. We advise viewers if they are saddened or uncomfortable, to not tune in,” Pritchett-McSpadden said. “We hope E25 continues to grow and do well.”
Pritchett-McSpadden said if they get any updates, viewers will be notified. She added they are keeping careful watch on E25 to see if that eaglet has problems in the event E24 died of a virus.
Egg No. 1 was laid Nov. 8, 2024 at 2:38 p.m. and E24 hatched on Dec. 14 at 4:01p.m. Egg No. 2 was laid on Nov. 11 at 6:15 p.m. and hatched on Dec. 17 at 5:48 a.m.
For more, go to dickpritchettrealestate.com/southwest-florida-eagle-cam/