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Showing posts with label autopsy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label autopsy. Show all posts

Friday, October 23, 2026

Jackie the Bald Eagle Necropsy Report, Scans, Xrays, Toxicology reports by Mary Cummins, Animal Advocates

UPDATE: 10/30/2026 We received more documents. I'll post them tomorrow or Sunday. I need to clean up and edit the files first. Jackie died at 8:30 am in the morning or at least that is when she was found. Ojai isn't a 24 hour facility. Home facilities are 24 hour facilities. Animal Advocates is operated out of volunteers' homes 24 hours a day. We'll stay up all day and night if needed. That's how we're able to feed babies every two hours around the clock. 

We'd like to note that the person who said they're "on the Fish & Wildlife list" hasn't posted a new document. That's because they lied and were just taking the documents from here and posting them in the Facebook eagle groups as their own documents. We can see the watermarks and edits. So silly. 

ORIGINAL: I just received the State Information Act Request records 10/23/2026 at 7:49 pm. I will add them here just going down the list. There are quite a few. Click images to see larger. 

*I am not sharing the Jackie folder so no need to continue asking. Some are emails from people complaining about Ojai Raptor's care of Jackie. They included people's full names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses. The Director has been very mean harassing anyone who dares question him or his treatment of Jackie. I don't want to give him a hit list of people to attack. He wasted countless hours sending nasty emails to people who didn't support him 100% while he was supposed to be caring for Jackie. They were really nasty. I didn't send in any emails. I posted my thoughts right here and on Facebook instead. He viciously attacked me right after I posted that I would request the full necropsy report if she died. That's all I posted at that time. I will redact the personal information of people who sent the emails then I'll post them. 

If you take the files, please, indicate that you took them from here. Some people are saying they got the files from Ojai when they clearly did not. I added a mark to the files and can tell. They're also saying they got them from Fish & Wildlife from a list. They didn't come from them either at least not directly. I made this information act request within an hour of when Jackie died. Then I had to follow up multiple times to get the files. If you make a new one, you have to wait 90 days. 

Summary of the full necropsy report. Full six page report is linked below.

"Clinical decline and death were attributed to progressive debilitation from severe, chronic, necrotizing transmural ventriculitis complicated by secondary bacterial sepsis and terminal metabolic collapse. Chronicity of the ventriculitis was evidenced by extensive mural fibrosis and granulation tissue, likely
accounting for the bird's initial debilitation prior to presentation. Ventricular mucosal ulceration served as both the source of chronic hemorrhage and the portal of entry for secondary bacterial infection. Immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization (ISH) demonstrated abundant intralesional influenza A virus antigen and RNA within multinucleated giant cells and infiltrating leukocytes, confirming a viral etiology for the ventriculitis. Furthermore, ISH revealed viral RNA within organizing thrombi in the heart and pectoral artery, and in a focus of necrotizing pneumonia and choroiditis of the left eye, indicating systemic viremic dissemination.

Bacterial sepsis secondary to the ulcerative ventriculitis was evidenced by vegetative endocarditis of the pulmonic valve and apical endocardium, fibrinonecrotizing arteritis and endophlebitis with thrombosis (right pectoral artery, caudal vena cava, hepatic vein), and intralesional bacilli in the caval
thrombus and bone marrow impression smears. Next-generation sequencing of the endocardial thrombus identified Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens as the predominant pathogens. Intralesional hair shafts, presumably from prey items, within the ventricular wall likely exacerbated and
perpetuated inflammation once the mucosa was ulcerated.

Refractory anemia while hospitalization likely resulted from ongoing hemorrhage from the ventricular ulcer compounded by anemia of chronic disease. Bone marrow cytology demonstrated erythroid maturational arrest, consistent with blunted erythropoietic compensation; the absence of viral RNA in the bone marrow by ISH argues against direct viral myelosuppression as the cause of the erythroid arrest. Progressive dehydration, reflected by renal urate stasis and renal gout, ultimately led to metabolic derangements that precipitated terminal decline.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was confirmed by the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory (CAHFS). Initial molecular confirmation and subtyping were complicated by low viral loads on choanal/cloacal swabs with high Ct values (35–38) on qPCR and negative virus isolation from tissues, consistent with resolving or chronic infection. However, subsequent qPCR using the pectoral artery thrombus confirmed HPAI H5/GsGd strain with lower Ct values (31–33) at CAHFS. Additionally, in-house targeted testing of the ventricular lesion for influenza A virus using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue revealed a high viral load with a low Ct value (25.6). The protracted disease course was likely facilitated by hospitalization and intensive supportive care.

HPAI manifesting predominantly as necrotizing ventriculitis is an atypical presentation in wild birds, with limited precedent in seabirds such as the great skua and European herring gull (Lean et al. 2023. Vet Pathol. 61(3):421–431). The absence of characteristic lesions in the central nervous system, pancreas, and spleen coupled with the lack of viral RNA in systemic lymphoid, endothelial, or epithelial tissues is likewise atypical. Furthermore, infection in early summer without concurrent local HPAI activity was unexpected; the nearest spatio-temporal detection occurred in Davis County, Utah, in mid-August.

A subacute, complete, displaced tracheal fracture with callus formation was also noted. While its cause remains undetermined, it likely stems from trauma that could have contributed to initial stranding and clinical compromise.

Toxicology screening revealed brodifacoum in the liver at 110 ppb, alongside background exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE). Despite the chronic anemia and high hepatic anticoagulant rodenticide concentration, gross and histologic
evidence of systemic thrombosis confirms the bird was not clinically coagulopathic; nonetheless, potential brodifacoum-induced immunomodulation cannot be ruled out as a factor in the severity of secondary sepsis. Enrofloxacin was detected in liver tissue via liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, consistent with reported in-hospital antimicrobial therapy."

Full necropsy report. She wasn't euthanized. She died naturally on her own from dehydration as a result of the blood loss, infection, virus... She'd had avian flu in her system for a while. All the test results are in this report in this link.

I just added a new file with a visible watermark. The last watermark was invisible to most readers. The watermark does not interfere with capturing text. Please, cite where you got the file and data. 


The purpose of getting the actual full necropsy is to find out what really happened. Ojai admitted they didn't know what was wrong with her or what to do for her. We can learn from the necropsy what was actually wrong with her. We can use this information to help bald eagles in the future. If you look at Ojai's report they only quarantined her the first two days. Should have been quarantined longer. They should have tested her for avian flu. Avian flu is in Big Bear lake where Jackie lived. Maybe she should have been given fluids for the dehyration. Maybe if they'd tested for avian flu immediately, they could have avoided the other stressful treatments and concentrated mainly on the virus and related symptoms. 

Some people noticed that the report states they don't know if this is Jackie or not. They said that because Jackie wasn't tagged. This is most likely Jackie based on size, coloring, feathers per people who followed her closely for years. Plus, Jackie would not have left Shadow and her babies. Jackie was gone for two days per the cam. Then a female adult eagle is found down on the ground nearby. It's most likely Jackie. Jackie didn't fly away from her family. People on FB are saying a new eagle in the area is Jackie. People who know Jackie well states it's not.

CT scan result




Radiology report



Ojai Raptor Center summary medical history

Someone sent an email as they were concerned whether or not Jackie was getting the best care. I have other emails where Ojai was contacting other raptor centers, LA Zoo asking for help and advice. 

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Monday, August 10, 2026 8:34 AM
To: PermitsR8MB@fws.gov; Wildlife WHLAB <WILAB@wildlife.ca.gov>
Subject: Supplemental Urgent Request — Independent Veterinary Review and Potential Transfer of Bald Eagle Jackie

Dear Wildlife Health/Permit Official,

I am writing to supplement my earlier request concerning Jackie, the critically ill adult female bald eagle from Big Bear currently receiving treatment at Ojai Raptor Center.

I respectfully request that an agency veterinarian or other appropriately qualified independent veterinarian review Jackie's complete medical record as soon as possible and specifically determine whether her condition warrants immediate transfer to a tertiary veterinary hospital, university veterinary medical center, or other facility capable of providing a higher level of avian critical care.

Jackie's profound recurrent anemia has now persisted for approximately three weeks, and her packed cell volume has reportedly fallen below 6%. Despite extensive diagnostic evaluation, no underlying etiologic diagnosis has been publicly announced.

I recognize that the absence of a publicly disclosed diagnosis does not necessarily mean that her veterinary team lacks a working diagnosis or that disease-specific treatment is not occurring. This is precisely why I am requesting an independent review of the actual medical record rather than drawing conclusions from public updates.

I respectfully ask the reviewing agency to determine:

• Whether Jackie's current facility represents the appropriate level of care for the severity and complexity of her condition.

• Whether transfer to a tertiary or academic veterinary facility with advanced avian critical-care, hematology, infectious-disease, pathology, imaging and transfusion capabilities could provide diagnostic or therapeutic options not presently available.

• Whether her complete diagnostic and treatment chronology demonstrates appropriately timely escalation as her anemia persisted and repeatedly worsened.

• Whether any additional diagnostic testing, specialist consultation, transfusion strategy, disease-specific treatment or other intervention should be instituted immediately.

I am making this request while Jackie remains alive because any potentially beneficial intervention necessarily needs to occur before that opportunity is lost.

I am not asking the agency to presume negligence or wrongdoing. I am asking for independent professional oversight and an affirmative determination that every reasonable opportunity to diagnose, escalate and treat this federally protected bald eagle is being pursued.

Please document this request and forward it promptly to the veterinarian, wildlife-health official or permit authority with the ability to review Jackie's current care and determine whether additional intervention or transfer is warranted.

I would greatly appreciate written confirmation that this request has been received and reviewed.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent wildlife-welfare matter.

Respectfully,"


Doc file. This was already in the press release. "Postmortem examination summary for bald eagle 26-519

The decline and death of this eagle were due to health complications from a chronic highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus infection. The HPAI in this case likely caused an ulcer in the gizzard, which then resulted in anemia from ongoing bleeding and serving as an entry point for bacteria that spread to other organs, ultimately leading to dehydration and terminal metabolic changes. Additional laboratory testing revealed evidence of viral spread beyond the gizzard to other tissues. This presentation of HPAI - predominantly as a gizzard ulcer rather than the typical brain or multi-organ disease - is unusual in wild birds but has been reported in other species.

Routine toxicology screening revealed an anticoagulant rodenticide, brodifacoum, in the liver at 110 parts per billion, alongside low-level exposure to environmental contaminants (PCBs and DDE). Despite the anemia and elevated rodenticide concentration, the presence of multiple blood clots throughout the body confirms that the bird's clotting ability was likely not impaired. Additional testing included veterinary clinical pathologist interpretation of bone marrow and body fluid samples, genetic sequencing of a blood clot in the heart (which identified E. coli and C. perfringens as the primary bacterial infections), testing for West Nile virus (negative), heavy metal screening including lead (no significant findings), and liver vitamin E levels (normal).
"



Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.


Google+ Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, wildlife, wild, animal, rescue, wildlife rehabilitation, wildlife rehabilitator, fish, game, los angeles, california, united states, squirrel, raccoon, fox, skunk, opossum, coyote, bobcat, manual, instructor, speaker, humane, nuisance, control, pest, trap, exclude, deter, green, non-profit, nonprofit, non, profit, ill, injured, orphaned, exhibit, exhibitor, usda, united states department of agriculture, hsus, humane society, peta, ndart, humane academy, humane officer, animal legal defense fund, animal cruelty, investigation, peace officer, animal, cruelty, abuse, neglect #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit Disclaimer: https://animaladvocatesmarycummins.blogspot.com/p/mary-cummins-disclaimer-freedom-of.html
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Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Mountain Lion P-22 Died from Car Accident and Long Term Poisoning per Necropsy by Mary Cummins, Animal Advocates

Mountain lion P-22 died from being hit by a car and poison, california department of fish and game, mary cummins, animal advocates, griffith park, los angeles, california, car, death,died, necropsy, autopsy, puma, cougar, wildlife
Mountain lion P-22 died from being hit by a car and poison, california department of fish and game, mary cummins, animal advocates, griffith park, los angeles, california, car, death,died, necropsy, autopsy, puma, cougar, wildlife

The California Department of Fish & Wildlife finally released the necropsy report for Griffith Park mountain lion P-22 who died December 17, 2022. He died as a result of being hit by a car and long term poisoning. He had five different types of anticoagulant poison in his liver, blood and fat. Research has shown that poison causes permanent organ damage especially to the kidneys. Anticoagulants cause serious kidney damage called anticoagulant-related nephropathy (ARN) and results from bleeding in the kidneys. Poison also causes immunosuppression which causes the body to not be able to defend itself from common mites and other conditions. The poison caused P22 to become ill and weak which is most likely why he came closer to humans looking for easier prey. When they become lethargic from the poison they are more easily hit by cars. Poison killed P-22. We must stop poisoning wildlife. Poison and depredation permits cause 100x more mountain lion deaths than cars. 

In July of 2011, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife requested California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) restrict the use of anticoagulant rodenticides due to numerous incidents involving direct and indirect poisoning of wildlife. Nothing was done. They requested the same in 1999. While CDFW has no jurisdiction over pesticides they do control depredation permits for mountain lions. In light of the many deaths from poison no new depredation permits should be allowed. An emergency injunction is needed. 1,700 mountain lions have been killed in California with depredation permits from 2001 to 2018. Population estimates were 4,000 total in California. 42% were killed by people who were not willing to protect their pets or farm animals with proper barns or fencing.

We did a State Information Act Request to the California Department of Fish & Wildlife for the necropsy report immediately after P22's death. They repeatedly stalled and stalled stating it was a lot of information to compile and would take more time than allowed by the law. The report was finished within days of P22's death. We've had wildlife necropsied at the same state lab that did P22's toxicology report. It takes a few days max. Immediately after finally writing up a lawsuit to compel production of the information act request they department released the report publicly.

California Department of Fish & Wildlife Press Release About P-22 Necropsy Report


Joint news release with National Parks Service

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and National Park Service (NPS) reviewed the final postmortem examination and lab tests from P-22, the beloved mountain lion from Griffith Park. The results confirmed P-22 had been suffering from multiple severe injuries and chronic conditions that impaired his ability to function in the wild and would have lowered his quality of life if placed in human care.

P-22 was captured and anesthetized by CDFW and NPS on December 12, 2022, after scientists noted a recent change in his behavior.

He was transported to the Los Angeles Zoo for initial examination and treatment, then transferred to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park for follow-up evaluation, including a computed tomography (CT) scan, where it was discovered that he had serious injuries and health problems. He was euthanized under general anesthesia on December 17, 2022.

The postmortem examination was completed by veterinary pathologists at the San Diego Zoo.

"We are grateful to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and Los Angeles Zoo teams," said Deana Clifford, a senior wildlife veterinarian for CDFW. "They provided excellent care for P-22 and conducted a detailed postmortem examination that shed plenty of light on this cat's condition."

Some findings demonstrated that P-22 had recent trauma to his head and right eye, including an orbital fracture with bleeding and early stages of scar tissue development. This is consistent with reports of a vehicle strike the night before he was captured.

P-22 also had injuries consistent with older, significant trauma, including a diaphragmatic rupture, through which the liver and sections of connective tissue from the abdomen had herniated and were inside his chest cavity.

Pathologists determined that this injury was older than the injury to his face and eye due to differences in the stages of scarification associated with each injury.

The examination also confirmed that he was underweight, arthritic and had progressive and incurable kidney disease, as determined before his death. He also had a severe parasitic skin infection over his entire body, caused by demodectic mange and a fungus, specifically ringworm. This is the first documentation of a demodectic mange infection and a concurrent systemic ringworm infection in a California mountain lion.

Toxicology testing on his liver at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory (CAHFS) UC Davis revealed exposure to five anticoagulant rodenticides (AR) compounds. However, he had no evidence of AR poisoning (i.e., unexplained bleeding, injury, illness or death due to exposure to the toxicants).

These include first-generation ARs, diphacinone and chlorophacinone, and longer-lasting and faster-acting second-generation ARs, brodifacoum, bromadiolone and difethialone. Diphacinone was also detected in a sample of P-22's blood collected after he was captured, which may indicate recent exposure. Diphacinone was also detected in P-22's blood in 2014 when he was captured by NPS biologists and treated for a different skin infection caused by notoedric mange.

A separate CDFW study tested 247 mountain lions at the CAHFS lab. It showed that 96 percent of tested animals had exposure to one or more ARs. While felids tend to be more resistant to AR poisoning, there have been at least seven AR-related mortalities in Southern California mountain lions over the last 19 years.

Additionally, desmethylbromethalin, the toxic metabolite of bromethalin, was detected in his body fat. Bromethalin is a widely available rodenticide that targets the brain and affects the central nervous system. Signs of bromethalin poisoning include muscle tremors, seizures, hind limb paralysis, respiratory paralysis and eventually death. There was no indication that bromethalin exposure resulted in poisoning on P-22 medical or pathologic exam. How P-22 was exposed to bromethalin, directly or secondarily through prey, is unknown. However, it is believed to be the latter.

P-22 was likely born in the Santa Monica Mountains as the son of adult male P-1. NPS biologists first captured and radio-collared P-22 in March 2012 when he was estimated to be two years old. He was one of the most senior mountain lions in a study the NPS has conducted since 2002.

He persisted for more than 10 years in Griffith Park and in the smallest home range that has ever been recorded for an adult male mountain lion. But life on this tiny “island” did not come without consequence. After crossing two of the busiest freeways in the world, 101 and 405, he would unknowingly become isolated and never produce offspring. His movements and access to natural habitat and prey would be restricted, putting him at increased risk for interactions with people, collisions with cars and exposure to rodenticides. As extraordinary as P-22’s life was - surviving against all odds - it is an increasingly common reality for wildlife.

"P-22 was a fascinating animal to study," said Jeff Sikich, the lead field biologist of the NPS mountain lion study. "Not only was he an important ambassador for urban wildlife, but his scientific contributions were also many. He helped us understand how mountain lions coexist with humans in this complex urban landscape, and his legacy will live on through our heightened awareness of how to live in harmony with wild neighbors and growing public support for wildlife crossings."

Below is the redacted summary of the necropsy report

"P-22 Necropsy summary for SDZWA Communications

History, medical findings and medical decisions have been previously summarized and shared.
A full post mortem examination was completed by the SDZWA Disease Investigations
department, including gross examination, microscopic examination and ancillary diagnostic
testing.

The post mortem findings are consistent with the animal’s history of recent trauma and confirm
the findings from the extensive diagnostic work up. There were a myriad of acute and chronic
medical conditions that contributed to declining health status.

Consistent with recent trauma, there was a fracture of the right orbital bone and gross evidence
of hemorrhage in the frontal sinus and right eye. The microscopic appearance of the right
orbital fracture included early fibrosis, supporting the time-frame of being hit-by-car 6 days prior
to euthanasia.

Consistent with older trauma, there were tears in the diaphragm, through which liver and
omentum had herniated into the chest cavity. The presence of mature fibrous adhesions
(scarring) indicated this injury was longer standing. There was evidence of chronic vascular
compromise to the herniated liver lobe, while the remaining liver was microscopically within
normal limits.

There was significant, multifactorial skin disease causing the poor condition of the hair coat. In
all examined skin sections (face, neck, hip, foot), there was heavy colonization of hair follicles by
mites (Demodex sp.) and dermatophytes (skin fungus / ringworm, Microsporum canis). Systemic
spread of the skin fungus was found in a lymph node. Generalized Demodex mite infections
suggest underlying immunosuppression or other disease. The skin disease likely contributed to
the deteriorating medical condition and systemic inflammation.

Age related changes were also noted and included heart valve disease, vascular disease, and
kidney disease. Changes were mild but were irreversible.

Toxicologic analysis of a post mortem liver sample for rodenticides was performed by the
California Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS) laboratory. Five anticoagulant rodenticides
were detected at varying concentrations. There was no evidence of abnormal hemorrhage or
coagulopathy that would suggest toxicosis, grossly or microscopically. Neurotoxic rodenticide
bromethalin was detected in a trace amount. There were no clinical signs consistent with
bromethalin toxicosis. Bromethalin does not typically result in microscopic lesions. Reported
amounts are below.

Anticoagulants Screen - Quantitated, Liver
Analyte Result (Cummins comment: analyte: chemical being analyzed) (ppb)(Cummins comment: part per billion) Rep. Limit (Cummins comment: reporting limit) (ppb)

Brodifacoum, 96, 50
Bromadiolone, 530, 50
Chlorophacinone, 87, 50
Coumachlor, Not Detected, 20
Difethialone, 220, 50
Diphacinone, 960, 50
Warfarin, Not Detected, 20
Difenacoum, Not Detected, 20

(Comment by Cummins. Notice how much higher the poison amounts are in P22 than reporting limit. He had large amounts in his liver. Much more poison was removed from his body via the liver and kidneys. It still does damage even after it's expelled.)

Bromethalin, Adipose Tissue
Analyte Result (ppb) Rep. Limit (ppb)
Desmethylbromethalin, Trace, 1.0

In summary, there was evidence of recent trauma to the head, a prior traumatic event resulting
in diaphragmatic tears and hernia, significant skin disease due to multiple infectious agents, and
exposure to rodenticides.

References


P34 died from anticoagulant poison with five poisons in her system at death
https://www.nps.gov/samo/learn/news/p-34-test-results-confirmed.htm

Anticoagulant poison promotes immune dysfunction in bobcats, mountain lions causing mange deaths
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5805946/


Riley SPD, Bromley C, Poppenga R, Uzal FA, Whited L, Sauvajot RM. 2007. Anticoagulant exposure and notoedric mange in bobcats and mountain lions in urban southern California. J. Wildl. Manag. 71, 1874–1884. ( 10.2193/2005-615) [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]

Many have requested that these poisons be restricted due to exposure to nontarget wildlife
https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/registration/reevaluation/2018_investigation_anticoagulant.pdf





Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.


Google+ Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, wildlife, wild, animal, rescue, wildlife rehabilitation, wildlife rehabilitator, fish, game, los angeles, california, united states, squirrel, raccoon, fox, skunk, opossum, coyote, bobcat, manual, instructor, speaker, humane, nuisance, control, pest, trap, exclude, deter, green, non-profit, nonprofit, non, profit, ill, injured, orphaned, exhibit, exhibitor, usda, united states department of agriculture, hsus, humane society, peta, ndart, humane academy, humane officer, animal legal defense fund, animal cruelty, investigation, peace officer, animal, cruelty, abuse, neglect #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit
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