LA Lion King P-22, an ambassador for wildlife /urban interface in Los Angeles

Welcome, Angelenos, to our science education journey where we explore the wild side of Los Angeles! 🌿🐾 From the sun-kissed peaks of Griffith Park to the hidden canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains, we'll delve into the fascinating world of urban wildlife and conservation right in our backyard. 🏞️ Join us as we uncover the secrets of mountain lions like P-22, discover the delicate balance of being a good neighbor to our wild counterparts, and learn how hiking in LA can be a gateway to understanding and protecting the natural world. 🚶‍♂️ Get ready to hike, conserve, and embrace our urban wilderness with us! #HikingLA #Conservation #UrbanWildlife #GoodNeighbor

Los Angeles, a bustling metropolis known for its urban sprawl and glamorous lifestyle, is also home to a surprising and elusive resident—the California mountain lion. These majestic creatures, also known as cougars or pumas, navigate the rugged wilderness within the city's outskirts. Despite the proximity to human civilization, these mountain lions can adapt to their urban surroundings. Living amidst the sprawling hills and canyons surrounding Los Angeles, these elusive predators have found a way to coexist with the ever-expanding human population.

Have you ever seen a Mountain Lion when hiking around LA?

I know I have never seen one, but I am sure they have seen me. Mountain Lions are quiet, sneaky, and seem to have very little interest in humans other than curiosity.

In all the studies of mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains, there has not been one aggression case between a lion and a human.

In the 2010’s biologists were using trail cameras to study the movement and the species that called Griffith Park, LA’s sprawling rolling hills open space, home. These cameras were mounted in remote locations across the 4,000+ acre park, and were motion activated- when something walked past the camera, a picture was taken that could be viewed remotely by biologists.

In Feb 2012, the first picture of a large cat in Griffith Park was snapped. This cat was over 100 lbs, had a long tail, wide paws, sleek coloring, and a wide face with forward-facing green eyes. He was identified as a young male Puma concolor, or by (one of) his common name, puma.

Let's get to know the big cat Puma concolor

Names

Mountain lions are known by many names across different regions. In California, they are often called "cougars," while in other parts of North America, they may be referred to as "pumas" or "panthers."

Habitat:

Size:

Diet

Lifestyle and Behavior

Conservation Status

P-22?

Let’s head back to Griffith Park where one excited biologist is showing the picture of the cat on his trail camera to National Park Service wildlife biologists who specialize in Mountain Lions at the Santa Monica Mountains National Monument.

Traps were placed around Griffith Park, and after nine days of tracking, waiting, and watching, the young cougar was trapped and tranquilized to allow biologists to measure, assess, and fit the cat with a GPS radio collar by the Santa Monica National Parks Puma research team.

He was the twenty-second Puma that was under their observation and received the name P-22. He was estimated to be a two-year-old male, fully grown at 130 lbs.

P-22 was the first mountain lion who was living in Griffith Park. This was such a surprise because it is expected that P-22 was a young cub who was born in Liberty Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Mountain Lions are solitary animals, and males in particular are extremely territorial. There have been records of male mountain lions fighting to the death over territory.

Biologists estimate that a male mountain lion needs about 200 acres of space with no other males.

This means that in his quest for his own range, P-22 crossed the 101 freeway and the 405 freeway in Los Angeles.

P-22’s story of crossing both the 101 and the 405 freeway, being so elusive he was unspotted even though he lived 2 miles away from the Hollywood Walk for Fame in the second largest city in the United States, earned celebrity status in the Los Angeles area.

P-22 pointed out a huge issue that LA County mountain lions face. Access to a mate. P-22 was not able to stay in the same habitat that he was born into was his dad’s territory. Between 12 and 16 months when a young male is fully grown, he is independent and needs to search out his territory.

In Liberty Canyon, outside Agora Hills, Ca, there were few options for him to find his own range without being in a major city or facing major infrastructure like the 101 freeway.

After P-22 established his home turf in Griffith Park, he faced another issue. Total isolation.

Scientists who have studied the LA mountain Lions for decades report that these cats have some of the lowest biodiversity within the species.

Their range is so vast, and their territory is so limited, that it creates the same challenges for breeding and genetic diversity as an island community. There are very few ways in or out.

Another huge challenge that LA Mountain Lions face is a similar challenge that the Bald Eagles face. Mountain Lions are top predators and hunt and kill small rodents, deer, and coyotes. When we work backward in the food web looking at what the small rodents and coyotes are eating, and what they are eating, we get back to mice and rats. Around urban populated areas, rodenticides are used to control unwanted pest populations.

Rodenticides, or poison are placed as available food sources for mice and rats. These poisons work by not killing rodents instantly, but by causing metabolic damage that leads to internal bleeding.

Animals like mice that are sick and weak but still alive are the first line of food for larger animals. This rodenticide accumulates in the bodies of each animal as it moves up the food chain.

Mountain Lions who consume coyotes who have consumed raccoons who have consumed poised mice are at risk for the accumulated harm from these rat poisons.

P-22 was seen on a camera covered in Mange. He was susceptible to the infection because of the compounding effects of rat poison. He was trapped, tranquilized, treated with antibiotics, and monitored through the trail cameras and the GPS color, but other Lions were not lucky enough to have the celebrity status as P-22 to receive Hollywood treatment.

Necropsies, or animal autopsies, have revealed cause of death in other Lions has been internal bleeding from accumulated poison.

This becomes an ethical debate- was treating P-22 the right decision? Was human intervention in a wild process the “right” thing to do? Does it change when we know that Mange from rodenticide accumulation is not “natural” and is a human-caused disease?

What is our responsibility as Humans to be kind and considerate to our wild Neighbors?

Each year, mountain lions are struck and killed on freeways or local highways. I can think of two instances alone that I have worked in the Angeles National Forest where we have received reports of cats being struck on our highways.

As humans, we have left our Lion Kings with few options. Stay within a small habitat range and get hunted by the more dominant male, or attempt to cross a major freeway in the dark at night to seek out a new range.

The country’s largest wildlife corridors has been proposed to help mitigate this problem. At Liberty Canyon, where P-22 was born, and down the road from a fatal lion strike, there are plans to build a large land mass bridge that will go over all lanes of the 101 freeway connecting the Santa Monica Mountain range with the Santa Susana Mountains range, the San Gabriel Mountain range, and the connecting foothills.

This wildlife crossing will allow for any animal, not just Mountain Lions, to expand their range, seek higher genetic diversity, and allow for a higher chance of survival through adulthood.

P-22 was loved by Los Angeles, he became a symbol of urban wilderness survival. P-22 lived in Griffith Park from before 2012 when he was fitted with his color to when he died in Dec 2022 at an estimated 12 or 13 years old.

His journey highlights the incredible adaptability of wildlife in the face of urbanization. Despite facing numerous challenges, including busy freeways and limited hunting grounds, P-22 has become a legend, showcasing the resilience and tenacity of nature in the urban jungle. His legacy lives on, and he is now a species ambassador working to bring urban and wild neighbors together.

Mountain Lions are incredible animals with so many lessons to teach us, check out our friends at: https://savelacougars.org/ https://www.nps.gov/samo/learn/nature/puma-profiles.htm https://mountainlion.org/ https://friendsofgriffithpark.org/p-22/

In 2022, just before P-22's death, there was a great video published that explains everything we learned about here-go check them out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ1PDsNRfTk

Did you know?

Mountain Lions are the largest of the cat species that Purr. Just like my kitty cat, a mountain lion can purr when content. Cats can EITHER Roar or Purr.

P-22 lived in Griffith Park, home of the LA Zoo. He invited himself onto zoo grounds after hours and found easy hunting grounds in the Kola enclosure. Oops. Koalas now all have mandatory inside bedrooms. They were always given the option, but after losing a Zoo resident to P-22’s paws, there is no more option.

P-22 Day is hosted in Griffith Park, his home grounds as a celebration of his life and continued efforts around urban conservation.