Carolin von Petzholdt

10/16/2026

💔🦅 WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT 2026 WOULD BE JACKIE’S LAST YEAR OF LIFE?

Looking back at Jackie’s journey through 2026, it feels like a story filled with heartbreak, miracles, and a goodbye none of us expected.

🪺 MARCH: HEARTBREAK IN THE NEST

Jackie laid her first two eggs, but ravens destroyed them. Then came another chance. Jackie laid two more eggs, and this time, a miracle happened. Sandy and Luna hatched! ❤️

🐣 SPRING: A NEW GENERATION

We watched Jackie and Shadow raise their precious eaglets. Sandy and Luna grew, explored their world, and eventually fledged in June. Another generation of Big Bear eagles was ready to spread its wings. 🦅

💔 AUGUST: JACKIE’S FIGHT FOR HER LIFE

Jackie became seriously ill and was rescued for treatment at Ojai Raptor Center. The veterinary team fought to save her, but Jackie passed away in August.

🔬 OCTOBER: THE ANSWER WE HAD BEEN WAITING FOR

On October 14, Ojai Raptor Center released Jackie’s necropsy findings, confirming highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in her affected tissues. The virus caused severe stomach ulceration, leading to internal bleeding, anemia, and complications that contributed to her death.

After months of wondering, we finally have an answer about the devastating illness that took Jackie from us. 💔

She raised Sandy and Luna, and Shadow stepped in to care for their young eaglets when Jackie was no longer at the nest.

Jackie’s final year gave us two new lives before leaving us with an unimaginable loss. Her story will forever be part of Big Bear Valley.

🦅❤️ What are your thoughts about Jackie’s journey in 2026, and the diagnosis that finally explained her decline? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

© 2026 Carolin von Petzholdt | Written by Carolin von Petzholdt
Please do not copy, reproduce, or repost my original writing or content without permission. Please share the original post instead.
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Video Credit: Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV) ❤️

10/16/2026

🦅❤️ KAYDEE WHISPERS IN SHADOW’S EAR… SHE HAS SOMETHING PROFOUND TO TELL HIM! 🤫💕

Psssst, Shadow… come a little closer. I have something to tell you! 🥰🪶

Look at Kaydee leaning in close to Shadow, as if she’s sharing the biggest secret in Big Bear Valley! 🤫❤️ And Shadow is right there, listening to every little sound.

Maybe it’s a little nest gossip. Maybe it’s a reminder that the stick inventory still needs work. Or maybe Kaydee is simply enjoying a sweet moment beside her favorite eagle!

Whatever the message, this moment is absolutely adorable. Two bald eagles, perched close together, giving us a scene straight out of a romantic movie!

Some conversations don’t need words. Just a little closeness, a gentle moment, and someone special who’s right there beside you. ❤️🦅

© 2026 Carolin von Petzholdt | Written by Carolin von Petzholdt
Please do not copy, reproduce, or repost my original writing or content without permission. Please share the original post instead.
Unauthorized use of my original content may be reported as copyright infringement.


Video Credit: Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV) ❤️

10/16/2026

💔🦅 JACKIE’S NECROPSY RESULTS ARE FINALLY HERE. DID THEY ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS?

After months of wondering what caused Jackie’s heartbreaking decline, Ojai Raptor Center has finally released the necropsy findings.

The report confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which caused severe stomach ulceration, internal bleeding, anemia, and further complications that ultimately contributed to her death.

For many of us who followed Jackie’s journey, these findings bring important answers, but also more heartbreak. ❤️‍🩹

🦅 Did Jackie’s necropsy results help you understand the illness that led to her death?

Share your thoughts in the comments below. 👇❤️

© 2026 Carolin von Petzholdt | Written by Carolin von Petzholdt
Please do not copy, reproduce, or repost my original writing or content without permission. Please share the original post instead.
Unauthorized use of my original content may be reported as copyright infringement.


Video Credit: Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV) ❤️

10/16/2026

If your Bird thinks your leg is a Tree 🌳 lol 😂

10/15/2026

Remember this???

Jackie was starving!!!

Shadow came in with fish for Luna and Sandy.
Jackie grab the fish from him.

💔🦅 JACKIE WAS FIGHTING FOR HER LIFE WHILE STILL RAISING SANDY AND LUNA…

Looking back, the final weeks of Jackie’s life are even more heartbreaking.

While she was becoming increasingly ill with avian influenza, she was still raising her two precious eaglets, Sandy and Luna. ❤️

After the eaglets fledged, Jackie was absent from the nest for more than a week. During that time, Shadow stepped up, bringing food to his young eaglets and caring for them when Jackie could no longer be seen doing so.

Shadow became their devoted eagle dad, making sure Sandy and Luna continued to receive food during this critical stage of their lives. 🦅💙

It almost feels as though Jackie held on until her babies were ready to fly on their own. We cannot know whether she understood what was happening to her, but the timing makes her story profoundly moving.

Jackie gave so much to her babies. And when she was no longer there, Shadow carried on.

A mother’s legacy lives on in the lives she helped prepare for the world. ❤️🦅

© 2026 Carolin von Petzholdt | Written by Carolin von Petzholdt
Please do not copy, reproduce, or repost my original writing or content without permission. Please share the original post instead.
Unauthorized use of my original content may be reported as copyright infringement.


Video Credit: Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV) ❤️

10/15/2026

Our happy Place! Hyacinth macaw Love gets to FREE FLY!

10/15/2026

🦅 HOW DID JACKIE GET AVIAN BIRD FLU?
Ojai Raptor Center’s necropsy confirmed that highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) caused severe stomach ulceration in Jackie, leading to internal bleeding, anemia, and secondary bacterial sepsis.
But how did she catch it?
❤️ One possibility is through eating infected prey, such as a bird carrying the virus. She could also have been exposed to contaminated water, droppings, or other infected birds.
Wild bald eagles are susceptible to avian influenza, and infected birds can sometimes appear healthy.
Unfortunately, Jackie’s necropsy confirmed the virus but did not establish exactly where or how she became infected.
Her final diagnosis helps explain the devastating illness she fought so hard to survive. 💔�

What do you think how she got the virus ??

© 2026 Carolin von Petzholdt | Written by Carolin von Petzholdt
Please do not copy, reproduce, or repost my original writing or content without permission. Please share the original post instead.
Unauthorized use of my original content may be reported as copyright infringement.

10/15/2026

New vlog just dropped The Dark Side of Bird Boarding: Hopie’s Traumatic Reaction after Pick Up!

DEAR CVP's! TODAY IS THE DAY!! This is episode you've all been wa...

10/15/2026

A WORD About Jackie’s Necropsy REPORT!

After everything Jackie endured during her hospitalization, learning that highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was found in her affected tissues is a significant and heartbreaking development.
The necropsy findings indicate that avian influenza contributed to Jackie’s severe stomach ulceration, which led to persistent internal bleeding, anemia, and further complications, including secondary bacterial sepsis.
How could Jackie have contracted bird flu?
Avian influenza is caused by influenza A viruses that circulate among wild birds. There are several possible routes of exposure, and the necropsy findings alone do not establish exactly where or when Jackie became infected.
The most likely ways Jackie could have been exposed

1. Eating infected prey
This is an important possible route for a bald eagle. Eagles can become infected after eating an infected bird, including waterfowl. The virus can circulate among wild birds, and predators can be exposed when feeding on infected prey. 

2. Contact with contaminated water or droppings
Infected wild birds can shed the virus in their f***s and other bodily fluids. Jackie could have encountered contaminated water, soil, branches, or other surfaces in her natural habitat. 

3. Exposure to an infected wild bird
Direct contact with an infected bird or indirect contact with contaminated materials can also transmit avian influenza. Wild birds may carry the virus without appearing sick. 

Why did the disease affect Jackie so severely?

The necropsy findings describe a devastating chain of complications:
HPAI caused severe stomach ulceration.
The ulceration was associated with persistent internal bleeding.
The ongoing blood loss contributed to severe anemia, meaning Jackie had too few red blood cells to carry oxygen effectively.
Secondary bacterial sepsis added another serious complication.
This helps explain why her condition was so difficult to stabilize. A blood transfusion could temporarily improve her red blood cell levels, but it could not eliminate the virus or repair the underlying stomach damage.

Could Jackie have caught it in Big Bear Valley?

Yes. Wild birds in California have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, and eagles are susceptible to infection.

It is also important to distinguish the confirmed diagnosis from the suspected route of exposure. The virus was confirmed in her affected tissues.

The heartbreaking part is that Jackie was still raising Luna and Sandy with Shadow during the 2026 nesting season while this illness was developing. Her final diagnosis gives us important answers about what happened inside her body, even though the precise source of infection remains unresolved.

© 2026 Carolin von Petzholdt | Written by Carolin von Petzholdt
Please do not copy, reproduce, or repost my original writing or content without permission. Please share the original post instead.
Unauthorized use of my original content may be reported as copyright infringement.


Video Credit: Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV) ❤️

10/15/2026

Ojai rapture center has finally published today Jackie’s Necropsy report:
Here’s the full report.

Final Necropsy Findings for Bald Eagle Patient 26-519

The final necropsy and extensive diagnostic testing have provided important answers about the illness and death of patient 26-519, the bald eagle from Big Bear Valley, known publicly as Jackie.

The necropsy revealed a complex and unusual disease process involving severe, chronic inflammation and ulceration of the stomach, persistent internal bleeding, anemia and secondary bacterial sepsis. Further diagnostic testing confirmed Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) within the affected tissues, identifying the virus as an underlying cause of the severe stomach ulceration. Multiple complications developed over time and ultimately contributed to her decline and death.

These findings have helped connect many of the pieces we were seeing throughout her hospitalization and provided a better understanding of the challenges she faced.
We are grateful to the many veterinary specialists, laboratories, wildlife agencies and partner organizations who worked alongside our team to understand her illness and provide her with the best possible care. Caring for her was an extraordinary privilege for our entire team.

For more information about the necropsy findings and Patient 26-519's medical care, please visit the Patient 26-519 section on our website where we have recently updated the FAQ with additional information. We will continue to communicate any important updates with our community. The link to the webpage is in our Linktree in our profile.