Photo: NPS/CDFW
P-22, the famous12-year-old mountain lionknown for crossing two major Los Angeles freeways, is exhibiting signs of deteriorating health following his capture on Monday.
After being found just south of his home in Griffith Park in the Los Feliz area through the GPS locations and signal from his tracking collar, hishealth evaluationon Monday determined that he may never return to the wild.
While he will undergo additional testing, including a CT scan to check for possible head and internal trauma, his aging status has led National Park Service and CDFW officials to choose whether an animal sanctuary or euthanasia is the best choice for P-22’s future.
NPS/CDFW
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“Everybody understands … the importance of this animal to the community and to California. And so if that kind of decision has to be made, I just want everybody to understand that it’s not something that’s taken lightly. It’s very deeply thought about. And if something like that does happen, we recognize the sadness of it,” said CDFW Deputy Communications Director Jordan Traverso.
The wildlife organization first announcedplans to capture P-22after multiple sightings, video camera recordings and physical encounters with the lion had been reported, hinting that he may be in distress and was deemed responsible for killing a leashed pet last month. The National Park Servicetracks the famous mountain lionwith a GPS radio collar because the area is one of only two megacities worldwide to have wild cats roaming within its city limits.
The CDFW called it an “unprecedented situation” in whichP-22 has continued to survivein an urban setting.
Their press release on Thursday described that as P-22 has aged, “the challenges associated with living on an island of habitat seem to be increasing and scientists are noting a recent change in his behavior.”
The NPSdetailed the lion’s historyin their own statement on Thursday writing that P-22 is a beloved wild mountain lion who survived against all odds.
National Park Service, via AP, File
They added that “his plight of being trapped in Griffith Park after making a perilous journey across two of the busiest freeways in the country showed the world how harmful our roadways can be to mountain lions and all wildlife. He captured the imagination of people around the globe, and his story inspired the building of the world’s largest urban wildlife crossing outside of Los Angeles so that other area mountain lions don’t suffer his same fate.”
Researcher think P-22 made Griffith Park his home in 2012, after leaving the Santa Monica Mountains and crossing over two freeways. ANational Geographicphotographer managed to capture a now-famous shot of the mountain lion in front of the Hollywood sign.
source: people.com
