Big Bear eagle Jackie's anemia has worsened, and vets still do not know what is causing it

The veterinary team treating Jackie, the bald eagle followed by hundreds of thousands of people through the Friends of Big Bear Valley nest camera, reported a setback on 3 August. Her anemia has worsened rather than improved.

The Ojai Raptor Center, which is treating her, put the position directly: today's bloodwork brought difficult news, her packed cell volume had dropped to 13 per cent, and her anemia had worsened since the previous update. Packed cell volume is the proportion of blood made up of red blood cells. A falling figure means the underlying process is still running, and 13 per cent is low.

She had already received a blood transfusion, from Spirit, a female eagle at the CALM Zoo in Bakersfield. The transfusion was described at the time as successful, and she remained in critical condition after it. The 3 August result indicates the improvement did not hold.

How she came to be in care matters for understanding what is and is not known. In mid-July Jackie was attacked by two subadult bald eagles near Dana Point Park on the north shore of Big Bear Lake. Rescuers found her unable to fly and took her to the Ojai Raptor Center. Veterinarians there found no physical injuries from the attack. What they found instead was severe anemia and inflammation affecting her kidneys.

That is the part being lost in some accounts. The attack is not the diagnosis. Jackie was not hurt by the other eagles in any way the examination could detect; she was already ill, and the most likely reading is that being ill is why she could not defend herself or fly afterwards. The cause of the anemia and the kidney inflammation has not been identified.

The team has requested expedited laboratory testing to narrow that question and guide treatment. No result has been announced, and the centre has not publicly named a suspected cause. Several conditions can produce this combination in a wild raptor, and until the testing returns, listing them would be speculation rather than reporting.

Jackie and her mate Shadow have been watched continuously for years through the Friends of Big Bear Valley camera, through failed clutches and through the eaglets that hatched earlier in 2026. That audience is the reason this is a national story rather than a local one, and it is also why unverified updates travel quickly. The two organisations actually handling her care — the Ojai Raptor Center and Friends of Big Bear Valley — are the only ones in a position to report her condition, and both have been publishing updates directly.

This article reflects the position as of the 3 August update. Her condition is changing day to day, and Open News will update this page as the treating organisations publish further results.