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, according to findings released by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife on Oct. 14, 2026.
The examination found an unusual course of disease: a severe stomach ulcer, lasting internal bleeding and a bacterial infection. Toxicology testing also detected a 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 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 to determine what caused its illness and death. Jackie was identified in the findings as Patient 26-519.
CDFW released the results with the alliance and Ojai Raptor Center. The conclusion drew on the necropsy, laboratory testing and toxicology tests, which look for poisons and other substances.
The agency identified highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, as the primary underlying cause of Jackie’s decline. Commonly called bird flu, HPAI is an infectious disease that primarily affects birds and has circulated in wild bird populations throughout the United States, the San Bernardino Sun reported.
How did the infection damage her body?
Steve Kubiski, director of disease investigations at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, described an unusual form of illness caused by the virus.
“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.
Anemia means a shortage of healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen. Sepsis is a serious complication of infection.
CDFW said the long-running disease affected Jackie’s ventriculus, the muscular part of a bird’s stomach also called the gizzard. The damaged, ulcerated tissue allowed bacteria to enter her body. Testing found HPAI genetic material in several tissues, including the damaged gizzard tissue.
The agency also reported severe inflammation and blood clots in the heart and several major blood vessels. Yahoo News reported additional findings of clots in a wing and a kidney, along with liver and lung abnormalities.
Ojai Raptor Center said diagnostic testing confirmed HPAI in the affected tissue and that multiple complications developed over time. CDFW described the illnesses as severe, interconnected disease processes that together contributed to Jackie’s decline and death.
Was rat poison responsible?
A toxicology screen detected brodifacoum in Jackie’s liver, along with other persistent environmental contaminants, CDFW said. Brodifacoum is an anticoagulant rodenticide — a rat poison that interferes with blood clotting.
Although Jackie had internal bleeding from the stomach damage, the examination did not find the uncontrolled bleeding typically associated with anticoagulant rodenticide poisoning, the agency said. That finding was the basis for not identifying brodifacoum as the primary cause of illness or death.
Testing also ruled out West Nile virus infection and lead poisoning, according to CDFW.
What else preceded her death?
ABC News reported that Jackie sustained an injury in a fight with other birds before she died.
