In critical condition, eagle Big Bear Jackie receives a life-saving blood transfusion
Almost a week after being rescued near Big Bear Lake, Jackie – part of the famous eagle couple – remains in critical condition as vets continue to puzzle over the cause of her ailments. Back at the nest, Shadow is taking care of the eaglets but may be spending time with the young female.
Suffering from severe anemia and kidney inflammation, Jackie received a life-saving blood transfusion but remains hospitalized. The blood was donated by Spirit, the Bakersfield zoo’s resident eagle, according to the Ojai Raptor Center, where he was treated.
Announced on Instagram on Thursday, the center said the 14-year-old eagle’s kidney inflammation has improved. But experts are still trying to understand the cause of his anemia. They ruled out lead poisoning and the presence of things like fishing hooks and weights. Photos accompanying the post show staff tending to the eagle, which appears large on a medical table.
“The eagle continues to sit and eat, and there is a slight improvement in its strength,” Eliza Cameron of the center said in the post. “His condition is still critical right now, and this is not a specific case.”
Currently, he is receiving intensive treatment in the center’s intensive care unit, and his care team says it is too early to predict the outcome. The Ojai Raptor Center does not identify its patient as Jackie, but as bald eagle “26-519,” noting in a previous post that it cannot be 100% sure of the bird’s identity but suspects it is from the two famous for their live broadcast of the nest that draws thousands of viewers.
Friends of Big Bear Valley, the non-profit organization that runs the live broadcast, is very confident that it is Jackie based on visual identification and the fact that the pastor was not at his nest overlooking Big Bear Lake.
Weak and exhausted, Jackie was picked up from the north shore of Big Bear Lake early Saturday morning by a team from San Dimas Raptor Rescue. He was underweight and had scattered feathers and muddy feet. A video taken shortly before her rescue shows Jackie walking with two young eagles, as she flips over her back to chase them away with her talons.
Not allowed to care for the bald eagles, the San Dimas team moved him to the Ojai facility later that day.
In his absence, Shadow pulls double duty, caring for two young eagles – Sandy and Luna – by feeding them and protecting their habitat. The sudden absence of her partner of eight years has left many est cam fans wondering what’s next for the family.
Shadow – Jackie’s two-year-old son – was spotted on Wednesday with the young eagle in a favorite perch.
“It is difficult to be sure which eagle visited this one due to the distance, but it may have been a 4+ year old girl that had been circling and had a brief fight with Jackie,” Friends of Big Bear Valley wrote in a Facebook post.
The nonprofit added that the eagle expert said it was unlikely that Shadow would “move on now” because of his relationship with Jackie, and that he is not expected to seek a mate “until his hormones kick in” in late December or early January.
“We must know that the eagle is wild and free, and it is up to the Shadow where it goes,” the post said.
The reveal of Shadow’s perch-cute probably stirred up a lot of emotions from family devotees.
To the chagrin of others, one commenter wrote, “I’m sitting here crying for Jackie and Shadow.
Others seem to be more understanding: “People need to realize that these are eagles … and they will do what their instincts demand.”
