One of UC Berkeley's two treasured peregrine falcons has been found dead.
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Grinnell's body was discovered in downtown Berkeley on Thursday afternoon.
While his cause of death isn't yet known, "he was probably struck by a car given where we found him," officials explained in announcing Grinnell's sudden passing on social media.
"Given the timing of this within the breeding season, it is doubtful that this nest will succeed with Annie alone," officials noted. "Over the next few days we will write a more complete remembrance. As you can imagine, like all of you, we are in the process of digesting this difficult news."
The two cherished and adored birds – Grinnell and Annie – and the worldwide fandom that follows their every move were profiled in a recent episode of KCBS Radio's "Bay Current" podcast.
They've lived atop The Campanile, officially known as Sather Tower, at UC Berkeley since 2016. In order to keep an eye on the pair for observation purposes, scientists installed webcams on the tower following a successful crowdfunding campaign and launched a website chronicling their activity.
The birds have over 8,500 followers on Instagram.
Allen Fish, director of the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory, told KCBS Radio's Mallory Somera he thinks their rise to Internet stardom came as the onset of the COVID-19 crisis forced everyone into their homes and looking for a window to the outside. "What a wonderful thing to have this glimpse of a...family of birds…their lives (have) nothing to do with COVID," Fish said. "(They are) one of the most free flying birds in the world. There's just so many levels of just wonderful majesty and excitement for this."
When Annie mysteriously disappeared and then reappeared without explanation in early March, Fish and Mary Malec – volunteer with East Bay Regional Park District, Golden Gate Raptor Observatory and UC Santa Cruz's Predatory Bird Research Group – were baffled.
As both Malec and Allen pointed out, other predatory birds known as "floaters" usually move in when a mate disappears or dies. "If a peregrine (falcon) dies, one of the pair, they have been replaced overnight," Malec said. "We know when Grinnell ended up injured and in the hospital, I came the next night or the next day and we saw peregrines here with Annie."
It's not clear what Annie will do in the wake of Grinnell's passing.
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