Big Bear Valley’s ‘royal couple’ Jackie and Shadow & their emotional journey to parenthood
Imperfect Paradise
LAist Studios
4.5 • 535 Ratings
🗓️ 10 April 2026
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The famed Big Bear bald eagle couple Jackie and Shadow have become a global internet sensation. Tens of thousands of fans tune in to watch every season as the couple expands their family. LAist Reporter and resident Jackie & Shadow expert Makenna Cramer discusses the recent mating season and the latest in the couple’s parenting saga.
For more on the worldwide fascination and obsession with the eagle couple, listen to our 2024 episode with Makenna and former Imperfect Paradise host Antonia Cereijido.
Read Makenna’s full report at LAist.com.
Grow your business–no matter what stage you’re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at SHOPIFY.COM/paradise
Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | LAIS and the Moth are joining forces for a new live show and you have two chances to see it. |
| 0:05.5 | The Moth main stage shows are on Wednesday, April 15th in L.A. |
| 0:08.9 | and Thursday, April 16th in Orange County. |
| 0:11.7 | Get tickets now at LAS.com slash events. |
| 0:14.7 | I'm Julia Paskin. |
| 0:16.2 | Ever been enthralled in an LAS story and your car radio loses the signal at just the wrong time. |
| 0:21.8 | Ah, me too. |
| 0:22.7 | And it drives me bananas. |
| 0:24.2 | That FM signal cannot interrupt your listen when you're streaming through the LAS app, though. |
| 0:28.4 | That's for iPhone and Android. |
| 0:30.4 | Welcome to Imperfect Paradise. |
| 0:32.1 | I'm your host Nereida Moreno. |
| 0:36.1 | There's a winter and springtime ritual here in Southern California that generates hope and |
| 0:41.0 | excitement every year. |
| 0:46.0 | What you're hearing is bald eagles Jackie and shadow in their nest, high above Big Bear, a ski town |
| 0:51.5 | a couple of hours northeast of Los Angeles. |
| 1:00.7 | The couple have been expanding their family for years, and they've become a global viral internet sensation. |
| 1:05.5 | Jackie and Shadow are the royal couple of Big Bear Valley. |
| 1:10.3 | So they are the subject of a very popular YouTube live stream. |
| 1:15.3 | Their nest sits near the top of a massive pine tree and overlooks Big Bear Lake. |
| 1:20.7 | The nonprofit friends of Big Bear Valley installed Jackie and Shadow's live cam in 2015, |
| 1:24.3 | and it has grown to more than a million followers on Facebook. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from LAist Studios, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of LAist Studios and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.