P-22, Famed Hollywood Mountain Lion, May Be Euthanized

LOS ANGELES, CA — P-22, Hollywood's celebrity mountain lion, may have been struck by a car, and wildlife officials are weighing the possibility of euthanizing the large cat, authorities announced Tuesday.

The puma was captured Monday, and a preliminary examination showed that he is severely underweight. He also had an eye injury consistent with being struck by a vehicle. Federal and state wildlife officials tracked P-22 to a Los Feliz backyard after receiving an anonymous tip that it may have been struck by a car.

The cat is unlikely to be released back into the wild or his turf in the Hollywood Hills. P-22's fate remains undecided. A decision about how to treat the mountain lion will involve a "team of people" from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the National Park Service, veterinarians and possibly outside consultants, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife South Coast Regional Manager Ed Pert.

If there is disagreement about the animal's fate, the director of the Department of Fish and Wildlife will likely make the ultimate decision, he said.

Given P-22's overall condition, it is unlikely the animal will ever be released back into the wild, according to Pert. The animal's fate will more likely wind up being a choice between an animal sanctuary or euthanasia, he said, adding that experts are "trying to do what's best for P-22."

"There will certainly be a team of people who ultimately make this decision, although I think that our director will, if need be, if there's a tie- breaker ... would be involved in that decision," Pert said.

He said the team involved in such a choice would include CDFW officials, the National Park Service, veterinarians and possibly "some folks from the outside to make sure that we have various perspectives fully understood."

"Nobody is taking that kind of decision lightly,'' California Department of Fish and Wildlife Deputy Communications Director Jordan Traverso told reporters in a videoconference Tuesday.

"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."

Authorities plan to conduct a CT scan on the animal this week to determine if he is suffering from more extensive internal trauma. Deana Clifford, a senior wildlife veterinarian with CDFW, said a facial injury like the one seen on P-22 raises concerns about a possible additional head trauma. She said experts are also awaiting the results of additional tests to determine if the animal is suffering from other ailments.

"This is an old cat, and old cats get old-cat diseases," she said. "Any of us who had cats at home have seen this. ... We're working through all of those issues and we'll take a totality of the findings into account to try to make the best decision we can for the cat."

There is likely to be debate about the lion, which became the ambassador of urban-wildlife interface ever since it was photographed in front of the Hollywood sign, launching it into international fame in 2015.

The famous lion killed a pet dog, attacked another and had run-ins with humans and pets in recent weeks. The behavior was out of character for the lion, which managed to coexited in the densely populated community for the better part of a decade.

"This is an unprecedented situation in which a mountain lion has continued to survive in such an urban setting," according to the DFW 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. This underscores the consequences of a lack of habitat connectivity for mountain lions and all wildlife."

P-22 has been living in the Hollywood Hills almost a decade after he became the only lion ever recorded to successfully survive crossings of the San Diego (405) and Hollywood (101) freeways to reach his current roaming grounds in the Griffith Park area. He was famously captured on camera prowling the city one night with the Hollywood sign lit up behind him. He is believed to be about 11 years old, making him the oldest cat in the National Park Service study of Southland lions. He was initially captured and outfitted with a tracking collar in 2012. At the time of his last capture, he weighed 123 pounds.

Dubbed the "Brad Pitt of mountain lions" (he’s famous, he photographs well and he’s single) the celebrity cat thrilled and terrified residents earlier this year when he strolled down Silver Lake Boulevard to Berkeley Circle.

A video widely shared on social media shows the cat walking down the sidewalk at 7 p.m. past cars and headlights, and lounging beside trash cans.

As his fame grew, he inspire the P-22 Festival and was periodically spotted around the city, even making his home underneath a Los Feliz house in 2015.

A year earlier, P-22 was afflicted with a serious case of mange believed to be linked to the ingestion of rat poison, but in time, he recovered.

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The decision to capture P-22 was met with praise from wildlife advocates.

"We must recognize when the limits of this unconnected space have been reached, and take action to ensure the well-being of P-22 and the community," Beth Pratt, California Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation, said in a written release.

"P-22 has always been in an unprecedented situation. Never has a mountain lion lived in such an urban setting in one of the world’s most populated cities. He is also a remarkably old mountain lion, living well past the normal life expectancy of his kind, and may now be exhibiting signs of distress," added Pratt. "Although he has always been impacted by the isolation the freeways caused him, as P-22 has aged, the challenges associated with living on an island of habitat seem to be increasing and the scientists are noting a recent change in his behavior."

The agencies stressed that they "do not require assistance" in capturing the animal, and asked the public to refrain from any efforts to do so.

SEE ALSO:

• Famous P-22 Mountain Lion Goes For Walk Deep In The City
• Famous Griffith Park Mountain Lion Shacks Up in Mansion's Crawl Space
• Celebrity Cougar P-22 Receives New Collar, Status Update
• Lion Becomes Instant Legend For Crossing The 405 Freeway
• It's A Girl! Meet LA's Newest Mountain Lion
• Mountain Lion Killed Trying to Cross the Freeway
• P-22 Mountain Lion To Be Featured In Nature Mural In Watts
• Gavin Newsom To Speak At Mountain Lion P-22 Festival

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.