From the London Times to Rolling Stone, Obituaries for P22 make headlines around the world
The outpouring of grief for P22 mountain lion of Hollywood aka The Cat That Changed America has been unprecedented. Few animals have made such impact – Shamu the Killer Whale, Cecil the Lion, Koko the Gorilla are a few – now P22 mountain lion following his passing last week joins these celestial creatures in the sky.
There has been widespread coverage of P22’s death by euthanasia following being hit by a car in the Hollywood Hills. But P22 did not die in vain, as he is an ambassador for urban wildlife, the importance of habitat connectivity and co-existence with our wild creatures. You can hear his incredible story in The Cat That Changed America. source
Rest In Peace P22 Mountain Lion (2010-2022)
We are saddened to say that the decision has been made to end P22’s suffering and help him transition to a better place. P22 was euthanised on Saturday morning December 17th 2022.
There are a few animals in the world which have touched the lives of so many people in the way that P22 did; Koko the Gorilla; Wojtek the bear are a few. Yet P22 was a truly unique and wild animal who beat humans at their own game by living right alongside them, in the very heart of Los Angeles.
P22 was born about 12 years ago in the Santa Monica Mountains but had to leave in search of his own territory as male mountain lions do. He made an incredible journey crossing two freeways, the 405 and the 101, in search of a new home.
He settled in Griffith Park in the middle of Los Angeles, where he became a celebrity after being discovered by Miguel Ordenana on one of his camera traps. Since then he has become an essential part of Hollywood Hills life, famous as Brad Pitt, adored by the cameras with legions of fans around the world.
Ironically, after dodging so much traffic, it was a car which contributed to his demise. When P22 was captured earlier this week, he was very undernourished and had an eye injury suggesting that he had been hit by a car.
There are those who say P22 should have been left to die in the wild and let nature take its course. But the recent attacks on local dogs show that his recent behaviour wasn’t normal and we think that the biologists made the right decision to let P22 go peacefully so we can remember him with fondness.
With so many fans and people rooting for him, we were convinced that P22 would have a happy ending, maybe dying peacefully of old age in his beloved Griffith Park. But his fate echoes that of other mountain lions who are hit by cars.
P22 did not die in vain. He was an ambassador for urban wildlife and reminded us of the importance of connectivity and sharing our space with wildlife. A wildlife crossing is being built over the 101 freeway near the place where he was born to connect the animals in the Santa Monica Mountains with the other side of the freeway.
We love you P22 may you rest in peace. You truly are the cat that changed America and all our lives. (photo credits Miguel Ordenana and the National Park Service) source
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P-22, Los Angeles’ famous mountain lion, has been euthanized after ‘severe injuries’ from possible ‘vehicle strike’
P-22, a mountain lion who has spent years in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park, has been euthanized after likely suffering injuries in a “vehicle strike,” officials say.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife made the decision to euthanize P-22 after a “comprehensive medical evaluation,” according to a news release Saturday.
The department said the “compassionate euthanasia” was unanimously recommended by the medical team at San Diego Zoo Safari Park and conducted under general anesthesia.
P-22 was given an “extensive evaluation” which “showed significant trauma to the mountain lion’s head, right eye and internal organs, confirming the suspicion of recent injury, such as a vehicle strike,” said the department. “The trauma to his internal organs would require invasive surgical repair.”
The 12-year-old mountain lion also had “significant pre-existing illnesses, including irreversible kidney disease, chronic weight loss, extensive parasitic skin infection over his entire body and localized arthritis,” according to the release.
He was in poor health overall and “may also have had additional underlying conditions not yet fully characterized by diagnostics,” said the department.
Officials will not be seeking information on P-22’s possible run-in with a vehicle, they added.
“This situation is not the fault of P-22, nor of a driver who may have hit him,” wrote the department. “Rather, it is an eventuality that arises from habitat loss and fragmentation, and it underscores the need for thoughtful construction of wildlife crossings and well-planned spaces that provide wild animals room to roam.”
P-22 became a Los Angeles celebrity when he was photographed beneath the iconic Hollywood sign by a camera trap. The image was featured in the December 2013 issue of National Geographic.
The mountain lion even had his own Facebook and Instagram pages, where fans left heartfelt messages on Saturday.
P-22 also made headlines for breaching a 9-foot fence at the Los Angeles Zoo and mauling a koala in 2016.
Officials throughout California issued statements marking the mountain lion’s death, including Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“P-22’s survival on an island of wilderness in the heart of Los Angeles captivated people around the world and revitalized efforts to protect our diverse native species and ecosystems,” Newsom said in a news release.
Newsom’s father was a founder of the Mountain Lion Foundation and championed permanent protections for the species, according to the release.
“The iconic mountain lion’s incredible journey helped inspire a new era of conserving and reconnecting nature, including through the world’s largest wildlife overpass in Liberty Canyon,” Newsom added. “With innovative coalitions and strategies to restore vital habitat across the state, we’ll continue working to protect California’s precious natural heritage for generations to come.”
Earlier this year construction on a wildlife crossing spanning 10 lanes along Highway 101 began, with the hopes of creating a safer way for animals to roam in the region. In addition, Newsom promised $50 million for other similar projects throughout the state.
Beth Pratt, the California regional executive director for the National Wildlife Federation, also remembered the mountain lion in an emotional news release. She said it is “hard to imagine I will be writing about P-22 in the past tense now,” and expressed hope that future California mountain lions would be able to roam safely.
“Thank you for the gift of knowing you, P-22. I’ll miss you forever,” Pratt said. “But I will never stop working to honor your legacy, and although we failed you, we can at least partly atone by making the world safer for your kind.” source
Celebrity Los Angeles cougar killed after car accident
A Los Angeles celebrity, a cougar whose image and story were used to campaign for a wildlife crossing over Highway 101, has died after apparently being hit by a car.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the cougar, known as P-22, had lived in Griffith Park in the city of Los Angeles for years. It was said to have killed a pet Chihuahua dog and to have been acting erratically. It was found in a backyard by National Park Service employees and taken in for evaluation. It was euthanized Saturday.
It was a Los Angeles Times story that introduced the world to the cougar. National Geographic published a feature on it. After that, the cougar became something of a celebrity. The Los Angeles City Council proclaimed Oct. 22 as “P-22 Day.”
The cougar became the focus of a campaign to build a crossover bridge for wildlife over Highway 101. There was a groundbreaking for the bridge in April on Earth Day.
The Liberty Canyon Wildlife Crossing – also known as the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing – will span eight lanes of highway plus two exit lanes. It is 200 feet long and 165 feet wide.
It will connect the Simi Hills and the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
The $87 million project is expected to be finished in 2025.
Campaigners to get the bridge constructed billed it as one of the largest urban wildlife crossings in the United States.
The cougar lived in an area hemmed in by highways. The Highway 101 freeway forms an almost impenetrable barrier for the threatened cougar population in the Santa Monica Mountains, cutting them off from a wider gene pool to the north, the Los Angeles Times reported. That has led to inbreeding and genetic abnormalities that endangered the population. It was also found to have ingested rat poison and suffered from mange, a parasitic disease.
“His story of being isolated and trapped is what really got people to realize why a crossing like that was needed, more than any scientific paper could,” Beth Pratt told the Los Angeles Times. She is a regional executive director in California for the National Wildlife Federation and often called herself “P-22’s agent.” LL source
P-22, Celebrity Mountain Lion of Los Angeles, Is Dead
The animal was euthanized on Saturday after wildlife officials discovered he had serious health issues, including kidney failure and heart disease.
A mountain lion celebrated in the Los Angeles community and who helped inspire an urban wildlife project was euthanized on Saturday, officials said.
The animal, known as P-22, was put down because of health issues that included kidney failure, heart disease, chronic weight loss and a parasitic skin infection, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said on Saturday.
P-22’s most severe injuries came after he was hit by a car this month. For a decade, he had evaded cars, including crossings of a 10-lane freeway.
The authorities captured P-22 on Monday after he appeared agitated and attacked two dogs, killing one of them.
“P-22’s advanced age, combined with chronic, debilitating, life-shortening conditions and the clear need for extensive long-term veterinary intervention left P-22 with no hope for a positive outcome,” the department said.
Estimated to be 12 years old, the mountain lion was considered old for his breed, wildlife officials said. P-22 was most likely born on the western side of the Santa Monica Mountains but lived most of his life in Griffith Park and amassed a social media following, with more than 10,000 followers on Instagram.
The park, while being the largest urban-wilderness municipal park in the United States, was small for an animal like P-22, though he made it home. The park recently hosted a celebration to honor the 10 years since P-22 — the 22nd puma in a study to get a tracking collar — was found.
P-22 was one of the animals that inspired the construction of a wildlife crossing bridge on the 101 Freeway, Brenda Rees, who is on the executive board of the Friends of Griffith Park, said on Monday.
“To see this happen kind of is a reminder of why we need connectivity in Southern California,” Ms. Rees said after P-22’s capture. “We need animals being able to go from one area to the other and not feel locked in the kind of confines he was in Griffith Park.”
The project is meant to give large animals like mountain lions the freedom to move without interacting with the urban space around them.
“P-22’s survival on an island of wilderness in the heart of Los Angeles captivated people around the world and revitalized efforts to protect our diverse native species and ecosystems,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement.
P-22 was one of the oldest mountain lions that the National Park Service has been researching since 2002, according to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Data collected from his patterns of movement will continue to be analyzed.
“Goodbye, P-22,” the recreation area said. “Your scientific legacy will live on.”
“I was so sorry that we did not make the world a safer place for him,” she said on Saturday. source
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