Thoughts on P-22

Photo by Steve Winter/National Geographic. P-22, 2013.

Saturday's sad news on P-22 took me several days to process and put into perspective. Reading this eulogy by David Ulin in the LA Times, I had similar thoughts about what P-22 meant to me as an adopted Angelino. Although I no longer live there, LA is always home. Over the past 10 years, I've thought a lot about P-22 and other nearby mountain lions. I've donated to the Save LA Cougars campaign and followed the progress on the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing at Liberty Canyon. I've enjoyed reading about P-22's adventures and discoveries of new puma litters in the mountains surrounding LA.

Without P-22, his years in Griffith Park, and Steve Winter's iconic photo with P-22 under the Hollywood Sign, the crossing at Liberty Canyon likely would not have been funded. This mountain lion made the improbable trek across both the 405 and 101 freeways, and lived for over ten years in the middle of Los Angeles. His journey and long life in the city has been an inspiration to many.

I shed a tear for P-22 on Saturday but hope his life leads to more support for urban wildlife protection in LA.

"Whatever else it is, Los Angeles is a place of aspiration. P-22 was part of that lineage, a saint of the city in the most elemental sense." - David Ulin, LA Times.