Cause of death for Jackie the bald eagle revealed; avian icon has been cremated

Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times on Oct 15, 2026

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LOS ANGELES — Jackie amassed millions of devoted fans thanks to a nonstop livestream of the aerie overlooking Big Bear Lake she shared with mate Shadow. When Big Bear’s celebrity eagle died in August, questions swirled about what had gone wrong.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Wednesday that Jackie died from highly pathogenic avian influenza, also known as bird flu. Testing revealed that rat poison was in her system, but officials do not believe it to be the primary cause of her illness or death. She had been suffering from multiple diseases, according to the department.

In July, the eagle was found weak and disheveled on the shoreline of Big Bear Lake. She was taken to Ojai for treatment. Tests revealed she had anemia, so she received a blood transfusion from another eagle. Despite scans and biopsies, experts could not figure out why she was ill. She died on Aug. 10 in the care of the Ojai Raptor Center.

Veterinary pathologists at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance performed the necropsy, Fish and Wildlife said in a joint statement with the wildlife alliance and the raptor center.

The necropsy found that highly pathogenic avian influenza was the “primary underlying cause of her decline,” and that the infection caused a severe stomach ulcer.

Jackie also showed signs of chronic disease involving the ventriculus, also known as the gizzard. The disease contributed to blood loss, anemia and a serious secondary bacterial infection. A toxicology screening discovered brodifacoum — rat poison — in her liver, as well as other persistent environmental contaminants.

“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,” Fish and Wildlife said.

Experts have also ruled out West Nile virus and heavy metals as factors that could have contributed to her death.

“The necropsy results have helped connect many of the findings we were seeing throughout the eagle’s hospitalization,” Chris Eksteen, executive director of the Ojai Raptor Center, said in the statement.

Jackie’s remains were cremated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Eagle Repository to prevent the spread of bird flu, according to Fish and Wildlife.

Some Jackie fans had unsuccessfully fought officials’ plans to send Jackie to the repository, which was established in the 1970s to provide members of federally recognized Native American tribes with eagle feathers, parts and whole bodies for religious use. At the time, fans argued that Jackie deserved special treatment (virtually all recovered carcasses of bald and golden eagles in the country are sent to the facility) and that she should perhaps be preserved through taxidermy.

Fish and Wildlife Service and its National Eagle Repository did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jackie’s longtime mate, Shadow, remains in Big Bear and appears to be healthy, Fish and Wildlife said. Days after Jackie’s death, Shadow was spotted in the company of a different female.