Second eaglet from Southwest Florida Eagle Cam dies after suffering seizure: Officials

Two days after the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam announced the death of an eaglet, it said that the second eaglet in the nest has passed away.

Second eaglet dies

What we know:

According to a social media post, around 3 a.m. Eaglet 25 started having seizures similar to those E24 suffered and fell out of the nest.

The post went on to explain that this is uncharted territory for the cameras and viewers.

Eaglet 25 from the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam died two days after E24 passed away. Image is courtesy of Dick Pritchett Real Estate.

Eaglet 25 from the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam died two days after E24 passed away. Image is courtesy of Dick Pritchett Real Estate. 

Southwest Florida Eagle Cam says it will keep the cameras streaming to continue observing the health of the eaglets’ parents, M15 and F23.

The post ended with, "Fly High & Forever Free E24 & E25."

What we don't know:

It is unclear what caused the apparent seizures in the eaglets. Southwest Florida Eagle Cam shared that CROW, Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife, Inc. got to the nest before sunrise and collected E25’s remains for a full necropsy.

What is the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam?

The backstory:

The eagles’ nest has generated attention since September 2012 when a noiseless camera was placed six feet above the nest to capture the daily lives of eagles Ozzie and Harriet. The pair had been visiting the nest since 2006.

Since 2012, several other cameras have been strategically placed on the tree to watch the nest, which sits 60 feet above the ground in a Slash Pine tree.

Viewers rejoiced as the couple welcomed eaglets over the years and mourned when Ozzie was killed by an intruder in September 2015.

After his passing, Harriet took M15 as a mate and the world continued watching as life went on with new eaglets hatching.

In the spring of 2016, officials say the nest deteriorated and completely fell apart, but the birds rebuilt.

It was destroyed by Hurricane Ian in 2022, but less than two days later, Harriet and M15 began to rebuild.

"The eagles had started to rebuild and had to start from stick one basically," said Pritchett McSpadden at the time.

Three months later, they were ready to welcome two new eaglets – called E21 and E22 – to the world and viewers were thrilled.

That joy soon turned to sorrow when Harriet disappeared from the nest after an "intruder" was spotted near the nest in early February. 

RELATED: Where is Harriet? M-15 continues caring for two eaglets while mother remains missing

She was never seen again by officials who monitor the nest, leaving M15 to fend for their two hatched eaglets.

Nearly a year after Harriet went missing, M15 recently returned to the nest with his new mate, F23.

The first egg between the newly mated couple was spotted in November 2023.

Officials who monitor the camera said in a social media post, "The odds were against this newly mated couple but Mother Nature and natural instinct continues to prevail."

M15 and F23 had been tending to two eggs, but, according to the website, the second egg became compromised somehow and did not hatch.

M15 and F23 welcomed E23 to the world on Dec. 31, 2023. 

A little less than a year later, E24 and 25 hatched, with E24 passing away on Sunday.

Click here to watch the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam live.

The Source: This story was written with information provided on the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam Facebook page and previous FOX 13 news reports. 

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