Wildlife trackers call him P-22 (short for puma), but most of LA knows him as that mountain lion that roams the Hollywood Hills.
P-22 has been hanging around Griffith Park all by himself for over ten years, occasionally spotted by anxious residents and animals alike. Scientists thought the urban park, surrounded by freeways and airports, was too cramped for a predator, but P-22 has survived and thrived.
Until now.
This week, wildlife officials tranquilized and captured the 12-year-old mountain lion after he killed a leashed chihuahua and attacked another in a different neighborhood.
“At the moment, it’s not likely that P-22 will be released back into the wild based on [his condition] and the other health issues that he seems to be facing,” Ed Pert, a regional manager of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, told a news conference.
According to the LA Times, P-22 is recovering well in a veterinarian’s office after being tranquilized Monday in a Los Feliz resident’s backyard. Doctors gave him fluids, vitamins, and antibiotics, and he’s resting.
But his fate is unknown. P-22 is getting old—he’s underweight, and his hair is thinning. He also has an injury under his right eye, probably due to a car accident.
“Sometimes when people or animals are hit by cars, that trauma will take a while to manifest,” Deanna Clifford, a senior veterinarian with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife told the LA Times. “So an eye injury always makes us a little worried about additional head trauma that we’re not quite sure of yet.”
Wildlife officials are weighing two options for P-22—relocating him to an animal sanctuary or euthanasia.
Should tests show that the cat’s health is severe, euthanasia would be “the most humane outcome,” Pert said. “We’re just trying to do what’s best for P-22, and that’s often a difficult call, just like when you’re dealing with a pet.”
I love you ,los angeles
— P22 (@GPMountainLion) December 14, 2022
