Jackie, the Big Bear bald eagle who spent this spring raising two eaglets in front of a worldwide webcam audience, is fighting for her life at a Ventura County wildlife hospital after her red blood cell count crashed to a fraction of what a healthy eagle needs to survive. The Ojai Raptor Center says she remains critically ill and unstable following what staff called an incredibly difficult stretch.
A Blood Count Barely Registering
Jackie's packed cell volume, the measurement of red blood cells circulating in her bloodstream, was recorded at 6% on Friday and rose only slightly to 9% by Saturday, according to CBS News. A healthy adult bald eagle typically runs between 35% and 55%, so even her modest uptick still leaves her red blood cell levels at a small sliver of normal, per LafeberVet. As recently as July, that same figure stood at 17%, showing just how sharply her condition has deteriorated in a matter of weeks.
The center said the past 24 hours had been incredibly difficult for Jackie and that her condition guides every decision the veterinary team makes. Staff has not released further specifics on her health beyond confirming she remains critically ill and unstable, saying their focus stays fixed on her welfare and the care she needs.
From Territorial Fight to Intensive Care
Jackie's ordeal began in Los Angeles County after she was found grounded and in lake water following a clash with two subadult eagles. Firefighters and residents stood watch over her near Big Bear Lake until the L.A. County Parks San Dimas Raptor Rescue team arrived to safely capture and stabilize her around 1:30 a.m., as reported by the Los Angeles Times. She has been under the care of the Ojai Raptor Center since July 19, a facility that, like all wildlife hospitals treating the species, must hold specialized federal permits under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act to handle a bird as strictly protected as Jackie.
Veterinarians have been trying to untangle whether the territorial fight itself caused her decline or whether it exposed a deeper illness that already had her vulnerable. Teams performed a contrast CT scan and a bone marrow biopsy to search for the root cause of her worsening anemia and kidney inflammation, according to CBS News Los Angeles. Before her latest decline, Jackie received a life-saving blood transfusion using blood donated by Spirit, a non-releasable resident bald eagle who has lived at the California Living Museum in Bakersfield for over two decades because of past injuries, the station's report notes.
A Mate Keeping Watch, and Fans Asked to Step Back
Back in Big Bear Valley, Jackie's longtime mate Shadow has stayed close to their territory while she remains hospitalized. Nest monitors with Friends of Big Bear Valley have observed him perching at lookout trees and defending the area against visiting subadult eagles, holding down the ground the pair has shared for years.
The couple's 2026 nesting season had been a triumph before Jackie's rescue, with two eaglets named Sandy and Luna fledging in early July after millions of viewers followed their growth on live nest webcams — a milestone Hoodline covered in Big Bear eaglet's terrifying first flight. That global following has only intensified since Jackie's hospitalization, prompting the Ojai Raptor Center to ask fans not to call, text, or visit the facility so its small staff can devote full attention to her care.
A Conservation Win Unfolding Alongside the Crisis
Jackie's medical fight has coincided with a major victory for the habitat she calls home. Conservation groups Friends of Big Bear Valley and the San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust secured $10 million in late July to permanently preserve 63 acres of Moon Camp shoreline habitat near the nest, land once eyed for a 50-home luxury development and marina, according to FOX 11 Los Angeles. The campaign's largest single gift, $5.5 million, came from OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and his wife Anna.
The fundraising success arrived five months after the February death of Sandy Steers, the longtime executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley who spent more than two decades on conservation efforts in the valley and had helped negotiate the Moon Camp purchase agreement shortly before she passed, per VVNG. For now, whether that preserved shoreline will again see Jackie return to it depends on veterinarians in Ojai getting her past a crisis that, as of the latest update, still leaves her critically ill and unstable.
