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Wildlife officials have announced plans to capture and evaluate Los Angeles' most famous mountain lion, P-22, the "Hollywood Cat." This comes after a spate of aggressive encounters, which officials say are out of character for the animal.
Los Angeles is one of only two megacities in the world that house big cats within its city's limits. The other is Mumbai in India. For two decades, the National Park Service (NPS) has been studying the animals' survival in this increasingly fragmented, urbanized environment, including tracking nearly 100 individuals with GPS radio-collars.
At 11-years-old, P-22 is the oldest living cat in the study. Since he was first identified in 2012, he has caused quite a stir, making headlines as the first mountain lion ever recorded in Griffith Park, the home of the famous Hollywood sign. To get there, he most likely had to cross two major freeways, a feat that has cost many other lions their lives.
As well as local news sites, he has been featured in National Geographic and profiled in The New Yorker.
After being suspected of killing a koala at Los Angeles zoo in 2016, P-22 has been lying low. That was until his recent spate of attacks, which resulted in the deaths of two chihuahuas. California's Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) suspect that this change in behavior could be a sign that the animal has become distressed in his increasingly urbanized habitat.
"This is an unprecedented situation in which a mountain lion has continued to survive in such an urban setting," they said in a statement. "As P-22 has aged, however, the challenges associated with living on an island of habitat seem to be increasing and scientists are noting a recent change in his behavior."
P-22's isolation in Griffiths Park highlights the lack of connectivity between lion habitats in California. Isolated by major roads, P-22 has been described as "L.A.'s loneliest lion" and it is unlikely that he will ever find love.
Despite the recent attacks, P-22 is still a beloved member of the Griffiths Park community, as comments to a Facebook post by the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area have highlighted.
"Thank you for your care of our beloved P-22," said one user. "Please keep him safe. I hope he can live out his days in a sanctuary. If so, I will visit him often."
"Take food care of him…he's beloved," said another.
The CDFW and NPS said that they will not speculate about the fate of P-22 after his evaluation.
"Currently all options are on the table in order to protect the public and this unique animal," Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, part of the NPS, said in a post. "It is everyone's goal to treat P-22 humanely and with respect."
The park service said that, based on previous captures, it could take months to track the animal down.
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About the writer
Pandora Dewan is a Senior Science Reporter at Newsweek based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on science, health ... Read more