Big Bear News – Big Bear Lake, CA – The mystery surrounding the death of Big Bear Valley’s beloved bald eagle Jackie has finally been answered, bringing both closure and renewed reflection to the Big Bear community who have followed her life and the lives of her eaglets.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, working alongside the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and Ojai Raptor Center, announced this week that Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu, was the primary underlying cause of Jackie’s decline and eventual death. Necropsy findings revealed the virus caused a severe stomach ulcer that led to chronic internal bleeding, anemia and a serious secondary bacterial infection.
Jackie died August 10, 2026 after more than three weeks of intensive care at the Ojai Raptor Center following her rescue from the shoreline of Big Bear Lake, where she had been found weak and unable to fly. Despite extensive testing, treatment and even a blood transfusion, veterinarians were unable to determine the full extent of her illness until post-mortem testing was completed.
Experts say Jackie’s case was unusual. While bird flu has affected wild birds across North America, the virus manifested in a rare way, causing severe ulceration in the eagle’s stomach. Further testing found evidence of the virus throughout multiple tissues in her body.
The necropsy also detected brodifacoum, a rat poison commonly found in wildlife poisoning cases, along with other environmental contaminants. However, officials determined those substances were not the primary cause of Jackie’s death because the characteristic signs of fatal rodenticide poisoning were not present. West Nile virus and heavy metal toxicity were also ruled out.
Jackie became an ambassador for the valley, attracting millions of viewers worldwide through the Friends of Big Bear Valley eagle nest cameras. Her loss has been felt deeply throughout the mountain community and around the world.
As Big Bear residents look toward another nesting season, Jackie’s legacy lives on in the nest she made famous, in the eaglets she helped raise, and in the countless people whose daily routine once included checking in on a bald eagle high above the shores of Big Bear Lake.
