PORTLAND, Maine — People who watch wildlife webcams get to see amazing things like eagles hatching and bears catching salmon.
But webcam operators also are grappling with the grittier side of nature: Viewers don't want to see any harm come to critters they've grown to love.
Officials caved in to protests last month in Minnesota, attempting to rescue a baby eagle with a broken wing. It was a different story in coastal Maine, where a struggling eaglet died last weekend after wildlife experts let nature take its course, triggering outcry from viewers across the country.
Erynn Call, a raptor specialist with the state of Maine, says webcams shouldn't be used "as a baby monitor" to allow people to intervene when they see something that makes them sad.