Big Bear's beloved bald eagle chicks have new names
LOS ANGELES - Meet Sunny and Gizmo!
The Friends of Big Bear Valley on Wednesday revealed the official names of Jackie and Shadow's two eaglets following a "Chick-Naming Contest" that drew in over 54,000 submissions.
What we know:
According to the FOBBV, the bigger chick is Sunny, while the smaller chick is Gizmo. Sunny is four weeks old, with Gizmo a few days behind.
Thousands of names were submitted in the week-long fundraiser for FOBBV, which closed Friday.
In line with tradition, the final decision was made by Big Bear Valley elementary school students, who voted from 30 finalists on official ballots delivered by the nonprofit earlier in the day.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Big Bear bald eagles live cam: Help name Jackie and Shadow's eaglets
Here's the list of 30 finalist names, in the order they were drawn: Skye, Crackle, Griffen Cloud, Sully, Arden, Riley, Raine, Striker, Hutch, Branch, Gizmo, Liberty, Star, Jade, Charlie, Talon, Cloudy, Blaze, Valor, Gilly, Jalen, Talie, Bell, Sassy, Passion, Swift, Destiny, Flyer, and Sunny.
The backstory:
The daily life of Jackie and Shadow from their nest is livestreamed online and draws in thousands of views.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Eagles Jackie and Shadow hatch two eaglets
Jackie and Shadow, the two bald eagles in Big Bear, have had two of their three eaglets hatch. Last year, none of their eggs hatched.
In early March, Jackie and Shadow hatched three eggs.
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Two weeks later, the FOBBV announced the passing of one of the chicks.
The eaglets, initially called Chick 2 and Chick 3, were temporarily renamed Bigger Chick and Smaller Chick after Chick 1 died.
This marks the first time in three years that the pair have had eaglets, drawing the attention of thousands of fans.
In 2019, they had two chicks and in 2022 they had one.
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What we don't know:
The genders of both eaglets is not yet known. According to FOBBV, they can start to look for indicators in each of the eaglets when they're around 9 to 10 weeks old. Some signs that point to their sex include leg size and beak and vocal pitch.
Officials noted the only way to determine the gender for sure would be through a DNA test.
The Source: Information for this story is from a Facebook post by the Friends of Big Bear Valley on April 2, 2025.