#Los Angeles mountain lion

[kawaiiinla]

Rest in Peace P-22

A Eulogy for P-22, A Mountain Lion Who Changed the World

• Beth Pratt

• Dec 17, 2022

‘It’s My Hope that Future Mountain Lions Will Be Able to Walk in the Steps of P-22 Without Risking Their Lives on California’s Highways, Streets’

“I write this eulogy while looking across one of the ten-lane freeways P-22 somehow miraculously crossed in 2012, gazing at a view of his new home, Griffith Park. Burbank Peak and the other hills that mark the terminus of the Santa Monica Mountains emerge from this urban island like sentinels making a last stand against the second largest city in the country. The traffic noise never ceases. Helicopters fly overhead. The lights of the city give the sky no peace.

“Yet a mountain lion lived here, right here in Los Angeles.

“I can’t finish this sentence without crying because of the past tense. It’s hard to imagine I will be writing about P-22 in the past tense now.

"Biologists and veterinarians with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced today they have made the difficult decision to end P-22’s suffering and help him transition peacefully to the next place. I hope his future is filled with endless forests without a car or road in sight and where deer are plentiful, and I hope he finally finds the mate that his island existence denied him his entire life.

“I am so grateful I was given the opportunity to say goodbye to P-22. Although I have advocated for his protection for a decade, we had never met before. I sat near him, looking into his eyes for a few minutes, and told him he was a good boy. I told him how much I loved him. How much the world loved him. And I told him I was so sorry that we did not make the world a safer place for him. I apologized that despite all I and others who cared for him did, we failed him.

“I don’t have any illusion that my presence or words comforted him. And I left with a great sadness I will carry for the rest of my days.

“Before I said goodbye, I sat in a conference room with team members from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the team of doctors at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The showed me a video of P-22’s CT scan, images of the results, and my despair grew as they outlined the list of serious health issues they had uncovered from all their testing: stage two kidney failure, a weight of 90 pounds (he normally weighs about 125), head and eye trauma, a hernia causing abdominal organs to fill his chest cavity, an extensive case of demodex gatoi (a parasitic skin infection likely transmitted from domestic cats), heart disease, and more. The most severe injuries resulted from him being hit by a car last week, and I thought of how terrible it was that this cat, who had managed to evade cars for a decade, in his weakened and desperate condition could not avoid the vehicle strike that sealed his fate.

“As the agency folks and veterinarians relayed these sobering facts to me, tissue boxes were passed around the table and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. This team cares just as much for this cat as we all do. They did everything they could for P-22 and deserve our gratitude.

“Although I wished so desperately he could be returned to the wild, or live out his days in a sanctuary, the decision to euthanize our beloved P-22 is the right one. With these health issues, there could be no peaceful retirement, only some managed care existence where we prolonged his suffering — not for his benefit, but for ours.

“Those of us who have pets know how it feels when we receive news from the veterinarian that we don’t want to hear. As a lifelong dog and cat owner, I have been in this dreadful position too many times. The decision to let them go is never easy, but we as humans have the ability, the responsibility, and the selflessness to show mercy to end the suffering for these beloved family members, a compassionate choice we scarcely have for ourselves.

“I look at Griffith Park through the window again and feel the loss so deeply. Whenever I hiked to the Hollywood sign, or strolled down a street in Beachwood Canyon to pick up a sandwich at The Oaks, or walked to my car after a concert at the Greek Theater, the wondrous knowledge that I could encounter P-22 always propelled me into a joyous kind of awe. And I am not alone — his legion of stans hoped for a sight of Hollywood’s most beloved celebrity, the Brad Pitt of the cougar world, on their walks or on their Ring cams, and when he made an appearance, the videos usually went viral. In perhaps the most Hollywood of P-22’s moments, human celebrity Alan Ruck, star of Succession, once reported seeing P-22 from his deck, and shouting at him like a devoted fan would.

“We will all be grappling with the loss of P-22 for some time, trying to make sense of a Los Angeles without this magnificent wild creature. I loved P-22 and hold a deep respect for his intrepid spirit, charm, and just plain chutzpah. We may never see another mountain lion stroll down Sunset Boulevard or surprise customers outside the Los Feliz Trader Joe’s. But perhaps that doesn’t matter — what matters is P-22 showed us it’s possible.

“He changed us.  He changed the way we look at LA. And his influencer status extended around the world, as he inspired millions of people to see wildlife as their neighbors. He made us more human, made us connect more to that wild place in ourselves. We are part of nature and he reminded us of that. Even in the city that gave us Carmeggedon, where we thought wildness had been banished a long time ago, P-22 reminded us it’s still here.

“His legacy to us, and to his kind will never fade. He ensured a future for the entire population of mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains by inspiring us to build the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, which broke ground this spring.

“P-22 never fully got to be a mountain lion. His whole life, he suffered the consequences of trying to survive in unconnected space, right to the end when being hit by a car led to his tragic end. He showed people around the world that we need to ensure our roads, highways, and communities are better and safer when people and wildlife can freely travel to find food, shelter, and families. The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing would not have been possible without P-22, but the most fitting memorial to P-22 will be how we carry his story forward in the work ahead. One crossing is not enough — we must build more, and we must continue to invest in proactive efforts to protect and conserve wildlife and the habitats they depend on — even in urban areas.

“P-22’s journey to and life in Griffith Park was a miracle. It’s my hope that future mountain lions will be able to walk in the steps of P-22 without risking their lives on California’s highways and streets. We owe it to P-22 to build more crossings and connect the habitats where we live now.

“Thank you for the gift of knowing you, P-22. I’ll miss you forever. 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.”

[reasonsforhope]

"Construction of the “largest wildlife crossing in the world” passed a significant milestone in April placing the first girders over an 8-lane freeway near Los Angeles to preserve the local mountain lion population.

After years of tireless work, erecting the first horizontal section of the 210-foot-long crossing was an historic moment for the National Wildlife Federation, the Caltrans highway department, and many private and public partners.

“We all cheered when the crane lowered the first concrete beam across the freeway, as we truly saw the bridge starting to take shape,” said an excited Beth Pratt, the California Executive Director of National Wildlife Federation.

“This structure is a testament to us all wanting a future for wildlife and mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains.”

Moving forward, up to 82 additional concrete girders will be placed, with each beam weighing between 126 and 140 tons. As these critical horizontal supports are placed, the structure will ultimately reconnect two long fractured global biodiversity hotspots in the Southern California region—providing safe passage for not only the cougars, but bobcats, deer, lizards, and coyotes, as they move between the Santa Monica Mountains and the Simi Hills of the Santa Susana mountain range.

[Note: The setting looks pretty rural in that rendering, but the wildlife crossing is actually only five minutes from the Los Angeles city border and the densely populated San Fernando Valley.]

For drivers on the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills, the construction is interrupting traffic from 11:00 PM to 4:00 AM on one side of the highway each week (Northbound or Southbound). The FAQs can be found here.

CBS news estimates about 1,500 of these wildlife passages have been built both over and under major highways and rural roads across America.

Watch CBS’s recent feature that highlights crossings over America’s longest highway, US 90, which runs across the northern states, and how a new US grant program is paving the way for more crossings…"

-via Good News Network, May 9, 2024

-video via CBS Sunday Morning, April 21, 2024

[sitting-on-me-bum]

A remote camera captured P-22, mountain lion, roaming Griffith Park in Los Angeles in 2013.

PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVE WINTER, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

[bumblebeeappletree]

Los Angeles is well known for its celebrities, so when the fearless cougar P-22 gained fame for making its home in the midst of the city, he inspired an effort to build the world’s largest wildlife crossing and helped spark a national campaign to support crossings and corridors everywhere.

When he came of age, P-22, like other young male mountain lions, set off to find territory and potential mates. Against all odds, he successfully traversed multiple freeways to find a new home in Griffith Park. However, this small scrap of land, like the Santa Monica Mountains he came from, remained isolated from larger mountain ranges to the east.

After years of research and outreach by local biologists and advocates like Beth Pratt, this team of conservationists pinpointed the vital location for a wildlife crossing to be built to restitch an entire ecosystem. Now a decade later, P-22’s story continues to inspire the very construction of this landmark crossing and expands what’s possible for urban wildlife coexistence.

[book51ut]

Review of Open Throat by Henry Hoke

excellent! this book, which is essentially a long form poem, was so creatively and smartly written that it is hard to say anything besides - read it! I’m so impressed how the tone and language was able to fully encapsulate what the thoughts of a lion might be. The reader can feel the apathy, the bloodlust, and the sleepiness of an animal through Hoke’s words. I also personally loved that the spelling and the words the author chose mimicked what would make sense for a lion, who can’t read, would interpret those things as. I also think the reflections about the problems with human nature and the effect that humans are having on the earth from the perspective of a predator is a great choice. The lion is both a victim of human interaction with land and also sees themself within humankind.

i loved it- it was a great, relatively quick read and i recommend it for anyone looking for something a little weird.

[nina-berry]

Farewell, old friend and neighbor. You lived a remarkable, long life in one of the most densely populated places on this planet. You reminded us that the wild is always with us, and that we must care for it more. I’m so sorry we invaded what should be your space, your kingdom. I’m sorry we cut you off from the life you should have lived with our freeways and our sprawl. But thank you for all the magic you added to our city.

I’ll help any campaign to put a bronze statue of P-22 up in Griffith Park.

[thebaronofvenicebeach]

I woke up this evening to find out that P-22 was unfortunately euthanized due to extensive physical damage done by a vehicle striking him. He was getting up there in years, and unfortunately also had been subject to loads of other health issues, and his time was coming as it was. But the circumstances are still awful.

No silently retreating into nature, to quietly sleep and passing in a dignified manner. He had to be captured after a spree of desperate attacks to feed himself because of an injury caused by his unfortunate proximity to humans, and then the end they began for him was finished.

Due to my general hours, willingness to go places I shouldn't, and overall strange "existence" in how animals overall regard me - neither viewing me as a threat, nor as something they can threaten - I was fortunate enough to have crossed paths with the legend himself twice, and I will always hold that dear. I would trade most celebrities in LA with the Grim Reaper for this guy to come back, he was a more worthy star than them all.

This is still probably one of my most favorite trail cam photos of him. I know he's iconic because of his photo in front of the Hollywood Sign, and there is definitely something undeniably majestic and almost surreal about that photo.

But here, this photo, where he looks just like a housecat getting caught being a little naughty, is just amazing.

[mysticdragon3md3]

Oh, NOOOOO!!!! ;O; I JUST heard about P22 from 99% Invisible! ;o;!!!

[rrdcooc]

City officials are considering options to install a memorial, including a possible statue, for the puma on the Tom LaBonge Panorama Trail, one of the main hiking routes near Griffith Observatory.

Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez introduced the effort at Wednesday’s City Council Meeting, where it was sent to the council’s Neighborhood and Community Enrichment Committee for further discussion.

[hleavesk]

i wasn’t aware of p-22. this is an interesting story about wildlife conservation, wildlife in the eyes of human and more.

(source: associated press | 4 feb 2023)

The life of Los Angeles’ most famous mountain lion followed a path known only to the biggest of Hollywood stars: Discovered on-camera in 2012, the cougar adopted a stage name and enjoyed a decade of celebrity status before his tragic death late last year.

The popular puma gained fame as P-22 and cast a spotlight on the troubled population of California’s endangered mountain lions and their decreasing genetic diversity. Now, with his remains stored in a freezer at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, wildlife officials and representatives from the region’s tribal communities are debating his next act.

Biologists and conservationists want to retain samples of P-22’s tissue, fur and whiskers for scientific testing to aid in future wildlife research. But some representatives of the Chumash, Tataviam and Gabrielino (Tongva) peoples say his body should be returned, untouched, to the ancestral lands where he spent his life so he can be honored with a traditional burial.

[danepopfrippery]

Thats so sad. Cars piss me off. Rip baby

[reynita9]

they captured the Griffith Park mountain lion because he killed a leashed pet last month. Magnificent Beautiful revered old cat. I hate the way they name them.. “P-22” like a specimen. He’s lived amongst those hills for years. I pray for his life, his freedom and his spirit. He tells a story that many people of Los Angeles have willfully forgotten about. You deserve honor big boy.

[seidkonaz]

los angeles' famed mountain lion p-22, photographed by steve winter

[richincolor]

We've found quite a variety of books being released today. There is romance, fantasy, music, murder, and more in the pages of these books. What will you add to your TBR pile?

Wild Dreamers by Margarita Engle Atheneum Books for Young Readers

In this stirring young adult romance from award-winning author Margarita Engle, love and conservation intertwine as two teens fight to protect wildlife and heal from their troubled pasts.

Ana and her mother have been living out of their car ever since her militant father became one of the FBI’s most wanted. Leandro has struggled with debilitating anxiety since his family fled Cuba on a perilous raft.

One moonlit night, in a wilderness park in California, Ana and Leandro meet. Their connection is instant—a shared radiance that feels both scientific and magical. Then they discover they are not a huge mountain lion stalks through the trees, one of many wild animals whose habitat has been threatened by humans.

Determined to make a difference, Ana and Leandro start a rewilding club at their school, working with scientists to build wildlife crossings that can help mountain lions find one another. If pumas can find their way to a better tomorrow, surely Ana and Leandro can too.

Saint-Seducing Gold (Forge & Fracture Saga #2) by Brittany N. Williams Amulet Books

The second book in the stunning YA historical fantasy trilogy that New York Times bestselling author Ayana Gray called “nothing short of spectacular”

There’s danger in the court of James I. Magical metal-worker Joan Sands must reforge the Pact between humanity and the Fae to stop the looming war. As violence erupts across London and the murderous spymaster Robert Cecil closes in, the Fae queen Titanea coerces Joan into joining the royal court while holding her godfather prisoner in the infamous Tower of London. Now Joan will have to survive deadly machinations both magical and mortal all while balancing the magnetic pull of her two loves—Rose and Nick—before the world as she knows it is destroyed forever.

Off With Their Heads by Zoe Hana Mikuta Disney Hyperion

Fans of Chloe Gong and Judy I. Lin will devour this Korean-inspired Alice in Wonderland retelling about two very wicked girls, forever bonded by blood and betrayal . . .

In a world where Saints are monsters and Wonderland is the dark forest where they lurk, it’s been five years since young witches and lovers Caro Rabbit and Iccadora Alice Sickle were both sentenced to that forest for a crime they didn’t commit—and four years since they shattered one another’s hearts, each willing to sacrifice the other for a chance at freedom.

Now, Caro is a successful royal Saint-harvester, living the high life in the glittering capital and pretending not to know of the twisted monster experiments that her beloved Red Queen hides deep in the bowels of the palace. But for Icca, the memory of Caro’s betrayal has hardened her from timid girl to ruthless hunter. A hunter who will stop at nothing to exact her On Caro. On the queen. On the throne itself.

But there’s a secret about the Saints the Queen’s been guarding, and a volatile magic at play even more dangerous to Icca and Caro than they are to each other…

Lush, terrifying, and uncanny, Zoe Hana Mikuta—author of Gearbreakers and Godslayers —takes a delicate knife straight through the heart of this beloved surrealist fairytale.

Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

Los Angeles, 1932: Lulu Wong, star of the silver screen and the pride of Chinatown, has a face known to practically anyone, especially to the Chow sisters—May, Gemma, and Peony—Lulu’s former classmates and neighbors. So the girls instantly know it’s Lulu whose body they discover one morning in an out-of-the-way stable, far from the Beverly Hills mansion where she moved once her fame skyrocketed.

The sisters suspect Lulu’s death is the result of foul play, but the LAPD—known for being corrupt to the core—doesn’t seem motivated to investigate. Even worse, there are signs that point to the possibility of a police cover-up, and powerful forces in the city want to frame the killing as evidence that Chinatown is a den of iniquity and crime, even more reason it should be demolished to make room for the construction of a new railway depot, Union Station.

Worried that neither the police nor the papers will treat a Chinese girl fairly—no matter how famous and wealthy—the sisters set out to solve their friend’s murder themselves, and maybe save their neighborhood in the bargain. But with Lulu’s killer still on the loose, the girls’ investigation just might put them square in the crosshairs of a coldblooded murderer.

Punk Rock Karaoke by Bianca Xunise Viking Books for Young Readers

When life gives you guitars, smash them!

School is out for summer and Ariel Grace Jones is determined to make it one for the books! Together with their bestie bandmates, Michele and Gael, Ariel believes they’re destined to break into the music industry and out of Chicago’s Southside by singing lead in their garage punk band, Baby Hares.

But before Baby Hares can officially get into the groove, the realities of post grad life start to weigh on this crew of misfits. Ari begins to worry that it’s time to pull the plug on their dreams of making it big.

Just when all hope feels lost, a fellow punk and local icon takes an interest in their talent. It seems like he might be the only one Ariel can rely on as frustrations between bandmates reach at an all-time high.

Punk Rock Karaoke is a coming-of-age tale that draws upon the explosive joy of the underground scene, while raising questions about authenticity, the importance of community and what it means to succeed on your own terms.

Song of the Six Realms by Judy I. Lin Feiwel & Friends

Xue, a talented young musician, has no past and probably no future. Orphaned at a young age, her kindly poet uncle took her in and arranged for an apprenticeship at one of the most esteemed entertainment houses in the kingdom. She doesn’t remember much from before entering the House of Flowing Water, and when her uncle is suddenly killed in a bandit attack, she is devastated to lose her last connection to a life outside of her indenture contract.

With no family and no patron, Xue is facing the possibility of a lifetime of servitude playing the qin for nobles that praise her talent with one breath and sneer at her lowly social status with the next. Then one night she is unexpectedly called to the garden to put on a private performance for the enigmatic Duke Meng. The young man is strangely kind and awkward for nobility, and surprises Xue further with an irresistible offer: serve as a musician in residence at his manor for one year, and he’ll set her free of her indenture.

But the Duke’s motives become increasingly more suspect when he and Xue barely survive an attack by a nightmarish monster, and when he whisks her away to his estate, she discovers he’s not just some country noble: He’s the Duke of Dreams, one of the divine rulers of the Celestial Realm. There she learns the Six Realms are on the brink of disaster, and incursions by demonic beasts are growing more frequent.

The Duke needs Xue’s help to unlock memories from her past that could hold the answers to how to stop the impending war… but first Xue will need to survive being the target of every monster and deity in the Six Realms.

Blood Justice (Blood Debts #2) by Terry J. Benton-Walker Tor Teen

Cristina and Clement Trudeau have conjured the impossible: justice.

They took back their family’s stolen throne to lead New Orleans’ magical community into the brighter future they all deserve.

But when Cris and Clem restored their family power, Valentina Savant lost everything. Her beloved grandparents are gone and her sovereignty has been revoked—she will never be Queen. Unless, of course, someone dethrones the Trudeaus again. And lucky for her, she’s not the only one trying to take them down.

Cris and Clem have enemies coming at them from all directions: Hateful anti-magic protesters sabotage their reign at every turn. A ruthless detective with a personal vendetta against magical crime is hot on their tail just as Cris has discovered her thirst for revenge. And a brutal god, hunting from the shadows, is summoned by the very power Clem needs to protect the boy he loves.

Cris’s hunger for vengeance and Clem’s desire for love could prove to be their family’s downfall, all while new murders, shocking disappearances, and impossible alliances are changing the game forever.

Welcome back to New Orleans, where gods walk among us and justice isn’t served, it’s taken.

[the-peak-tmnt]

Asking a few people this! If the turtles weren't from New York, where would you like for them to live? What city or state or even country?

Whoa! I love this question!

Okay, so my choice is Los Angeles. I no longer live there, but it was my second home and I plan on moving back once my parents are gone. I was a transplant, though, so take all this with a grain of salt. Or maybe some lifelong/longtime locals can chime in and build off this!

The turtles traditionally travel around NYC via sewers and rooftops. LA is extremely spread out, though. It’s also a car city, and I think the turtles would embrace the car culture in a couple different ways.

First of all, I think we’d see a lot more of the turtles traveling like the boys did in the grocery shopping montage in Mutant Mayhem:

Lots of riding on cars in the dense LA traffic, luring under overpasses to hop a ride on the right truck, hopping over barriers along the shoulder, etc.

Secondly, I can see the turtles fixing up an old van like a 1970s/80s/90s Ford Econoline or Club Wagon or something similar as their turtle tank. I know the 87 series Party Wagon is based on a classic VW bus, but those are just too flashy and iconic for the boys to keep a low profile in modern LA. Whatever they had, it would need to look a little busted up to blend in!

That being said, I think it would be almost impossible for them to go completely unnoticed! I think they would end up in a sort of hybrid situation where they’re known to exist by Angelenos, but everyone outside of Los Angeles thinks they’re just some quirky LA urban legend. But for Angelenos, I think they’d be sort of like P-22 the mountain lion; something everyone knows is there, but only a lucky few ever actually see.

They might actually play this up by hitting up popular tourist attractions or local hotspots to let people catch a glimpse of them. Like they might swing by Griffith Observatory or Santa Monica Pier to psych people out like ‘holy shit did I really just see a turtle?!’ I think they'd get a kick out of it, and their need for secrecy wouldn't be taken as seriously as it is in most TMNT iterations because that matches the more chill vibes of LA.

I think even some locals would take advantage of this and start turtle sightseeing tours like they do celebrity sightseeing tours, and take tourists to places that the turtles have been spotted in the past. The boys might even work with some of these tours under the table and intentionally let themselves be spotted as a side hustle or something lol

Making the turtles Angelenos would also be perfect for way to play up their skateboarding hobby, because LA is a skateboarder’s paradise. There’s tons of skate parks which they’d probably be hitting up at night, but I could also see them taking advantage of the LA river and sketchier places only the most adventurous of humans try to skate.

If the turtles were Angelenos, I think they would be based in DTLA since that’s the best urban cover for them. It also gives them access to DTLA’s Metro, which would be the easiest way for them to get from DTLA to the greater Los Angeles area so they wouldn’t always have to rely on using the van.

I could keep going, but I think I’ll leave it here for now and maybe come back to this later!

[newhologram]

“I write this eulogy while looking across one of the ten-lane freeways P-22 somehow miraculously crossed in 2012, gazing at a view of his new home, Griffith Park. Burbank Peak and the other hills that mark the terminus of the Santa Monica Mountains emerge from this urban island like sentinels making a last stand against the second largest city in the country. The traffic noise never ceases. Helicopters fly overhead. The lights of the city give the sky no peace.

“Yet a mountain lion lived here, right here in Los Angeles.

“I can’t finish this sentence without crying because of the past tense. It’s hard to imagine I will be writing about P-22 in the past tense now.

"Biologists and veterinarians with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced today they have made the difficult decision to end P-22’s suffering and help him transition peacefully to the next place. I hope his future is filled with endless forests without a car or road in sight and where deer are plentiful, and I hope he finally finds the mate that his island existence denied him his entire life.

“I am so grateful I was given the opportunity to say goodbye to P-22. Although I have advocated for his protection for a decade, we had never met before. I sat near him, looking into his eyes for a few minutes, and told him he was a good boy. I told him how much I loved him. How much the world loved him. And I told him I was so sorry that we did not make the world a safer place for him. I apologized that despite all I and others who cared for him did, we failed him.

“I don’t have any illusion that my presence or words comforted him. And I left with a great sadness I will carry for the rest of my days.

“Before I said goodbye, I sat in a conference room with team members from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the team of doctors at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The showed me a video of P-22’s CT scan, images of the results, and my despair grew as they outlined the list of serious health issues they had uncovered from all their testing: stage two kidney failure, a weight of 90 pounds (he normally weighs about 125), head and eye trauma, a hernia causing abdominal organs to fill his chest cavity, an extensive case of demodex gatoi (a parasitic skin infection likely transmitted from domestic cats), heart disease, and more. The most severe injuries resulted from him being hit by a car last week, and I thought of how terrible it was that this cat, who had managed to evade cars for a decade, in his weakened and desperate condition could not avoid the vehicle strike that sealed his fate.

“As the agency folks and veterinarians relayed these sobering facts to me, tissue boxes were passed around the table and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. This team cares just as much for this cat as we all do. They did everything they could for P-22 and deserve our gratitude.

“Although I wished so desperately he could be returned to the wild, or live out his days in a sanctuary, the decision to euthanize our beloved P-22 is the right one. With these health issues, there could be no peaceful retirement, only some managed care existence where we prolonged his suffering — not for his benefit, but for ours.

“Those of us who have pets know how it feels when we receive news from the veterinarian that we don’t want to hear. As a lifelong dog and cat owner, I have been in this dreadful position too many times. The decision to let them go is never easy, but we as humans have the ability, the responsibility, and the selflessness to show mercy to end the suffering for these beloved family members, a compassionate choice we scarcely have for ourselves.

“I look at Griffith Park through the window again and feel the loss so deeply. Whenever I hiked to the Hollywood sign, or strolled down a street in Beachwood Canyon to pick up a sandwich at The Oaks, or walked to my car after a concert at the Greek Theater, the wondrous knowledge that I could encounter P-22 always propelled me into a joyous kind of awe. And I am not alone — his legion of stans hoped for a sight of Hollywood’s most beloved celebrity, the Brad Pitt of the cougar world, on their walks or on their Ring cams, and when he made an appearance, the videos usually went viral. In perhaps the most Hollywood of P-22’s moments, human celebrity Alan Ruck, star of Succession, once reported seeing P-22 from his deck, and shouting at him like a devoted fan would.

“We will all be grappling with the loss of P-22 for some time, trying to make sense of a Los Angeles without this magnificent wild creature. I loved P-22 and hold a deep respect for his intrepid spirit, charm, and just plain chutzpah. We may never see another mountain lion stroll down Sunset Boulevard or surprise customers outside the Los Feliz Trader Joe’s. But perhaps that doesn’t matter — what matters is P-22 showed us it’s possible.

“He changed us.  He changed the way we look at LA. And his influencer status extended around the world, as he inspired millions of people to see wildlife as their neighbors. He made us more human, made us connect more to that wild place in ourselves. We are part of nature and he reminded us of that. Even in the city that gave us Carmeggedon, where we thought wildness had been banished a long time ago, P-22 reminded us it’s still here.

“His legacy to us, and to his kind will never fade. He ensured a future for the entire population of mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains by inspiring us to build the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, which broke ground this spring.

“P-22 never fully got to be a mountain lion. His whole life, he suffered the consequences of trying to survive in unconnected space, right to the end when being hit by a car led to his tragic end. He showed people around the world that we need to ensure our roads, highways, and communities are better and safer when people and wildlife can freely travel to find food, shelter, and families. The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing would not have been possible without P-22, but the most fitting memorial to P-22 will be how we carry his story forward in the work ahead. One crossing is not enough — we must build more, and we must continue to invest in proactive efforts to protect and conserve wildlife and the habitats they depend on — even in urban areas.

“P-22’s journey to and life in Griffith Park was a miracle. It’s my hope that future mountain lions will be able to walk in the steps of P-22 without risking their lives on California’s highways and streets. We owe it to P-22 to build more crossings and connect the habitats where we live now.

“Thank you for the gift of knowing you, P-22. I’ll miss you forever. 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.”