BIG BEAR, CALIFORNIA, Oct. 21 (Our California Times) — Bird flu was the primary underlying cause of the illness that led to the death of Jackie, the bald eagle from California’s Big Bear Valley, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said. Testing found an unusual chain of complications, including severe stomach damage, internal bleeding and bacterial infection.
The agency released the findings Oct. 14, 2026, with San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and Ojai Raptor Center. Jackie died Aug. 10 after more than three weeks of intensive care at the center, KESQ reported. Her life had been followed through a Big Bear livestream, ABC News reported.
What did the examination find?
Veterinary pathologists at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance performed the necropsy — an examination of an animal after death to determine what happened. Jackie was identified as Patient 26-519.
CDFW said the necropsy, laboratory tests and toxicology findings identified highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, as the primary underlying cause of her decline. Toxicology testing looks for substances such as poisons and other contaminants.
HPAI is an infectious disease that primarily affects birds and has circulated in wild bird populations across the United States, the San Bernardino Sun reported.
In Jackie’s case, diagnostic testing confirmed the virus in affected tissue, Ojai Raptor Center said. CDFW reported finding HPAI genetic material in several tissues, including damaged stomach tissue.
How did the infection damage her body?
Steve Kubiski, director of disease investigations at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, described an uncommon form of the infection.
“In an uncommon presentation of the virus, the infection caused a severe ulcer in her stomach that led to persistent internal bleeding, anemia, and the development of bacterial sepsis,” Kubiski said.
An ulcer is an open sore in tissue. Anemia means the blood lacks enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen properly; sepsis is a serious response to infection.
CDFW said chronic disease affected Jackie’s ventriculus, the muscular part of a bird’s stomach commonly called the gizzard. The damaged tissue allowed bacteria to enter her body, causing a secondary bacterial infection.
The agency also found severe inflammation and blood clots in her heart and several major blood vessels. Yahoo reported additional findings of clots in a wing and a kidney, along with liver and lung abnormalities.
Ojai Raptor Center said multiple complications developed over time. CDFW described them as interconnected disease processes that ultimately contributed to Jackie’s decline and death.
Was an injury involved?
ABC News reported that Jackie sustained an injury in a fight with other birds before her death. The cause-of-death findings identified the viral infection and its complications as the underlying disease process.
What about rat poison and other contaminants?
A toxicology screen detected brodifacoum in Jackie’s liver, along with other persistent environmental contaminants, CDFW said. Brodifacoum is an anticoagulant rodenticide — a poison used against rodents that interferes with blood clotting.
Although Jackie experienced internal bleeding associated with the stomach ulcer, the agency did not identify brodifacoum as the primary cause of her illness or death.
“The necropsy did not find uncontrolled bleeding typically associated with anticoagulant rodenticide; therefore, brodifacoum was not identified as the primary cause of illness or death,” CDFW said.
Testing also ruled out West Nile virus infection and lead poisoning, the agency said.
