BIG BEAR, CA — While the Lion King‘s Simba is the king of the box office, another Simba is ruling the Internet.
Simba, the baby bald eagle featured in a nest cam overlooking Big Bear Lake, finally took flight Tuesday after 13 weeks of stealing hearts around the world. It hasn’t been an easy journey for Simba, who lost his brother to a late season snow storm. More recently, the late bloomer was the subject of teasing headlines for his failure to launch.
But now fans are cheering as the endangered baby spread his wings and took flight, soaring above Big Bear Lake.
And every minute of his journey was captured on camera.
Simba’s big moment came at 6:19 a.m. Tuesday (seen just after dawn in the live feed above). Perched at the edge of his nest with a million-dollar view of the lake, Simba spread his wings, flapped them just a few times, and took flight with a squawk. In an instant he was gone.
The U.S. Forest Service closed off trails and campsites around the nest to make sure the crowds didn’t interfere with the young eagle’s launch.
“After an eagle’s first flight, it usually uses the nest area as a home base for up to two weeks while becoming more adept at flying,” said Robin Eliason, a wildlife biologist with the forest. “It’s important to continue to protect him from disturbance until then.”
Fans have been watching him since the beginning, when mama and papa eagles Jackie and Shadow built their nest in March and laid two eggs. Cookie and Simba were born April 14th. An especially snowy winter with surprise storms lasting through Memorial Day weekend claimed Cookie, who likely died of hypothermia. Simba continued to snuggle up against Cookie long after losing him as viewers watched, riveted by the drama. Simba, a survivor, who made it through snow storms and earthquakes, seemed in no hurry to leave the nest. While most eagles leave the nest as early as 10 weeks, Simba was content to flap his wings from the safety of the nest thanks to a steady supply of fish delivered by Jackie.
Earlier this month, the mountain’s local paper, the Big Bear Grizzly, ran a teasing article about Simba’s failure to launch. In an article titled “Eagle, chicken or millennial?,” the newspaper wondered what Simba’s problem was.
“Eagles usually fledge between the ages of 10 and 12 weeks,” the newspaper noted. “So, is Simba scared of taking that first big leap to adulthood? Or is he the typical millennial, content to stay at home and let his parents support him?”
Now Shadow and Jackie have an empty nest. Simba is off to rule his realm. And the drama and beauty of the Big Bear Eagle cam that captured imaginations for so many weeks has its final chapter.
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