Rest in Peace, P-22

A Reflection on the Life of the Iconic Puma of LA’s Hills

by Josh Rosenau, Conservation Advocate

P-22, the mountain lion who captured a home range in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park, and in the hearts of Angelenos for nearly a decade, died Saturday morning, December 17, 2022.

His exact birthplace is unknown, but as a young mountain lion he made headlines by crossing two massive freeways to find his long-time home in Griffith Park. These freeways that slash through patches of forest in LA’s hills challenge all wildlife, but create a special problem for mountain lions, a species that usually needs dozens or hundreds of square miles to find prey, to hide and rest, to seek mates and rear cubs.

National Geographic photographer Steve Winters’ iconic photograph of P-22 in front of the Hollywood sign came to symbolize the strength and courage needed to make that long crossing. It cemented the cat as an A-lister and galvanized a movement to save LA’s cougars.

Angelenos related to P-22. They saw him enjoying an excellent food scene, but making do with a far tinier home than his country kin. Freeways constrained his dating life, and theirs too.

He experienced nearly all the dangers threatening the survival of LA mountain lions: cars, poisons, humans, and inbreeding. Cars constantly threatened his safety and blocked his access to mates. His genes are now lost to the already inbred population. While California has stringent laws to protect carnivores from rodenticides, P-22 needed veterinary care for mange after eating rodenticide-tainted meat. Generally invisible within busy Griffith Park, P-22 was occasionally sighted lounging on nearby sidewalks or apartment staircases. Such close encounters can lead to lethal responses; luckily, his celebrity and good disposition meant people took those encounters in stride.

His easygoing way changed in the last month of his life, after he was struck by a car, lost the use of one eye, and suffered other injuries that made it hard to hunt. When he attacked several small dogs, wildlife agencies had little choice but to track him and take him in for veterinary care.

During those last weeks, he was lionized by civic leaders and wildlife advocates. Comedians and screenwriters plotted elaborate heists to spring P-22, and LA residents vowed not to snitch on the cat’s location. When euthanasia emerged as the only option, LA’s elected leaders launched plans to memorialize the lion with a statue in Griffith Park.

Work is now underway on a massive wildlife crossing across one of LA’s largest freeways. While it will open too late to aid P-22, the Liberty Canyon crossing is a gift to all his relations. The largest and most expensive urban wildlife crossing ever built, it is testament to the hard work of legislators, state agencies, philanthropists, and wildlife advocates.

As we mourn P-22’s death, and the fact that Griffith Park is once more devoid of mountain lions, we draw inspiration from his life and feel a stronger pull to protect and preserve the presence of these animals throughout their range.■