Her Legacy Gives Others a Second Chance
Your gift honors the legacy of Patient 26-519 by strengthening the expert care, specialized resources, and capacity needed to help Bald Eagles and other raptors throughout California.
On Saturday, July 18, Adult Bald Eagle Patient 26-519 (publicly known as “Jackie”) arrived at Ojai Raptor Center after being found grounded and unable to fly. Weak and critically ill, she was admitted into our care and began an intensive medical journey supported by our veterinary and rehabilitation team and specialists from across the country.
Based on the information available to us and the circumstances surrounding her rescue, Patient 26-519 was believed to be part of the well-known breeding pair (Jackie and Shadow) from the Big Bear area.
Despite extensive diagnostics, treatment, around-the-clock supportive care, and the extraordinary efforts of everyone involved in her case, Patient 26-519 passed away during the evening hours of August 9.
Her story, however, does not end there.
The tremendous outpouring of support inspired by Patient 26-519 has created an opportunity to make a lasting difference for Bald Eagles and other raptors throughout our region. The Bald Eagle Rehabilitation Campaign that began with her care will continue as part of her legacy.
Funds raised through this campaign support not only the extraordinary resources devoted to Patient 26-519's care, but also Ojai Raptor Center's ability to expand our capacity to provide specialized care for future patients and to strengthen raptor rehabilitation resources throughout the region.
As a nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation organization without sustained government funding, this work is possible because people choose to support it. The response to Patient 26-519 has demonstrated what can happen when a community comes together around wildlife.
Patient 26-519 may have been the reason this campaign began, but its impact will extend far beyond one eagle. Her legacy will live on in the eagles and other raptors who arrive at our doors in the years ahead, in the care we are able to provide, the capacity we are able to build, and the wildlife we are able to return to the wild.
Please consider supporting the Bald Eagle Rehabilitation Campaign and helping us turn the extraordinary support inspired by Patient 26-519 into a lasting investment in the future of raptor rehabilitation and conservation.
Ojai Raptor Center
is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization; Federal EIN 77-0543286.