Jackie the bald eagle's mysterious cause of death revealed
Michael Loria, USA TODAYThu, October 15, 2026 at 3:39 AM UTC
Jackie, the beloved California bald eagle whose life was watched via live video feeds by millions around the world, died of complications resulting from avian influenza, according to a newly released necropsy report.
"Jackie's necropsy confirmed Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) as the primary underlying cause of her decline," Steve Kubiski, director of disease investigations for the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, said in a statement Wednesday, Oct. 14. "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."
The newly released report sheds light on the mysterious illness that veterinarians struggled to treat throughout the summer. The Big Bear Lake, California, bald eagle's life was livestreamed on YouTube, leading to her becoming an object of global fascination and to her hometown becoming practically synonymous with America's iconic bird.
She died in August after a weeks-long fight with an illness that confounded the eagle's doctors. Efforts to save Jackie saw her hospitalized and placed under anesthesia for veterinarians to perform what many hoped would be a life-saving blood transfusion. Veterinary pathologists at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance performed the necropsy.
According to the report released by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the avian flu left Jackie with a severe stomach ulcer that led to ongoing blood loss and ultimately a deadly bacterial infection.
"Together, the findings showed that Jackie was suffering from multiple severe and interconnected disease processes that had been developing over time and ultimately led to her decline and death," the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said of the report.
The state agency said that HPAI is a highly infectious disease that has been circulating in wild bird populations throughout the United States. Eagles and other raptors are believed to contract the disease through contact with infected birds or by eating infected prey. Waterfowl and shorebirds are natural carriers of the viruses.
Jackie was hatched in 2012, the first eaglet to do so in Big Bear Valley, USA TODAY previously reported. Her parents, Ricky and Lucy, became the first known adult eagles who decided to stay in Big Bear Valley, which until then had only been a part-time winter destination for the species. Big Bear Lake is about an hour northeast of San Bernardino in Southern California. She lived in Big Bear Valley in the San Bernardino National Forest.
She became a viral sensation a few years later when U.S. Forest Service employee Sandy Steers got the idea to install a webcam 120 feet off the forest floor to broadcast her life.
Jackie found her first romance in 2017 when she mated with an eagle named Mr. B. The couple's eggs hatched in 2018, and while one of the eaglets died after a 24-hour rainstorm, the other, named Stormy, survived and left Big Bear that summer.
Her second mate, Shadow, remains in Big Bear, state authorities said. California wildlife officials said that there is nothing to indicate he or their eaglets, Sandy and Luna, are sick.
"The story of the Big Bear bald eagle reflects the powerful connecti feel to these iconic birds," said wildlife agency Director Meghan Hertel. "We’re grateful to everyone who cared for her and worked to support her well-being. Understanding the results of these tests is an important part of learning from this case and can help inform the care and treatment of other eagles and wildlife in the future."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jackie the bald eagle's mysterious cause of death revealed
Source: Nature