Jackie, a beloved bald eagle who become an internet sensation and a symbol of the species' recovery, died of bird flu, wildlife officials say.
A necropsy and further testing identified highly pathogenic avian influenza as the primary underlying cause of her death in August, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said Wednesday.
In the weeks before her death, Jackie was receiving care at the Ojai Raptor Center for various ailments, including anemia.
Chris Eksteen, the center's director, said in the news release that the necropsy results “have helped connect many of the findings” they saw during her hospitalization.
“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," Steve Kubiski, the disease investigations director at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, where the necropsy was conducted, added in the news release.
Nature lovers watched Jackie and her partner, Shadow, tend to their nest in trees near Big Bear Lake for more than a decade via an online video feed. The nest camera, located in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles, was installed in 2015 by the nonprofit Friends of Big Bear Valley, which documented the successes and failures of each breeding season.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza has been circulating in bird populations throughout the US. There is no evidence Shadow is ill, according to the news release.
Waterfowl and shorebirds are natural hosts for bird flu viruses, but eagles and other raptors can be exposed through contact with infected birds or by eating them, according to the news release.
Jackie's remains were cremated to prevent transmission of the virus, it said.
American bald eagles teetered on the brink of extinction until the pesticide DDT was banned in the 1970s and other protections were established. The species rebounded and was removed from the federal endangered list.
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