BIG BEAR, CALIFORNIA, Oct. 21 (Our California Times) — Bird flu was the primary underlying cause of the illness that killed Jackie, the bald eagle from California’s Big Bear Valley, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said in findings released Oct. 14, 2026.
The findings describe an unusual course of disease: a severe stomach ulcer, ongoing blood loss and a bacterial infection, along with inflammation and blood clots. Toxicology testing also detected rat poison, but the agency did not identify it as the primary cause of her illness or death.
Jackie, whose life was followed through a Big Bear livestream, died Aug. 10 after more than three weeks of intensive care at Ojai Raptor Center, KESQ reported.
What did the examination find?
Veterinary pathologists at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance performed the necropsy — an examination of an animal after death. CDFW released the findings with the alliance and Ojai Raptor Center. Jackie was identified in the findings as Patient 26-519.
The agency said the necropsy, laboratory tests and toxicology results identified highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, as the primary underlying cause of her decline. HPAI is commonly called bird flu. It is an infectious disease that primarily affects birds and has circulated in wild bird populations across the United States, the San Bernardino Sun reported.
Ojai Raptor Center said diagnostic testing confirmed the virus in affected tissue. CDFW reported finding HPAI genetic material in several tissues, including damaged stomach tissue.
How did the infection damage her body?
The disease affected Jackie’s ventriculus, the muscular part of a bird’s stomach also called the gizzard, according to CDFW.
“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,” said Steve Kubiski, director of disease investigations at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.
An ulcer is an open sore. Anemia means the blood has too few healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen effectively. Sepsis is a dangerous response to infection.
CDFW said the damaged, ulcerated tissue allowed bacteria to enter Jackie’s body. The examination also found severe inflammation and blood clots in her heart and several major blood vessels.
Ojai Raptor Center said multiple complications developed over time. CDFW described the conditions as interconnected disease processes that together contributed to her decline and death.
Yahoo News also reported blood clots in a wing and a kidney, as well as liver and lung abnormalities.
Was rat poison involved?
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 to kill rodents that interferes with blood clotting.
Despite that finding, the examination did not show the uncontrolled bleeding typically associated with anticoagulant rodenticide poisoning, the agency said. It therefore did not identify brodifacoum as the primary cause of illness or death.
The internal bleeding linked to Jackie’s stomach ulcer was part of the disease process described by the pathologists. The agency’s assessment of the rodenticide rested on whether the examination showed the pattern of bleeding typical of that poisoning.
What else did testing address?
CDFW said testing ruled out West Nile virus infection and lead poisoning.
Separately, ABC News reported that Jackie had sustained an injury in a fight with other birds before her death.
