Sandra Hale Schulman
Special to ICT
P-22 finally made it home to his beloved ancestral homelands in the Santa Monica Mountains.
The displaced mountain lion – who survived two crossings of busy highways to finally settle into a nine-acre park near the famed Hollywood sign – returned home in a pine box on March 4 for a private ceremony and burial.
He was believed to be 12 years old – considered “very old” for a wild mountain lion.
SUPPORT INDIGENOUS JOURNALISM. CONTRIBUTE TODAY.
The animal, known as P-22, became a symbol of the Southern California mountain lion population and an ambassador for wildlife conservation before succumbing to old age and injuries after apparently being struck by a vehicle.
“I can … imagine P-22 at peace now, with such a powerful and caring send-off to the next place,” Beth Pratt, California executive director for the National Wildlife Federation, wrote in a Facebook post after attending the ceremony.
“As we laid him to rest, a red-tailed hawk flew overhead and called loudly, perhaps there to help him on his journey,” Pratt said.
The aging mountain lion, the only one of his kind in the nine-acre Griffith Park, never had a mate and stalked his prey alone in the hills and hiking trails underneath the Hollywood sign. But he captivated photographers and was the namesake to a P-22 Day each year on Oct. 22 in Los Angeles.
He was finally euthanized on Dec. 17 after being captured, sickly, in someone’s backyard. Officials said he was suffering from old age, diseases carried by domestic pets and trauma from being hit by a vehicle.
His return to a private gravesite included a ceremony with songs, prayer and sage smoke, according to Alan Salazar, a tribal member of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians and a descendent of the Chumash tribe who attended the burial.
“We had one simple goal – to try and be as respectful as possible to such a magnificent animal,” Salazar told the Los Angeles Times. “He was a leader. He was a chief.”
His legacy will live on in the development of the Wallis Annenberg Liberty Canyon Wildlife Crossing, a project now under way that will become the biggest corridor in the world for wildlife to safely pass over busy roadways.
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, where the cougar’s remains had been kept in a freezer after his death, called the burial a “historically significant ceremony.”
“The death of P-22 has affected all of us and he will forever be a revered icon and ambassador for wildlife conservation,” museum officials said in a statement.
‘Hollywood cat’
P-22 was outfitted with an electronic collar in 2012 when he was about a year or so old, and became part of a study that the National Park Service had been conducting since 2002 on mountain lions, cougars and their habitat.
P-22’s father is believed to have been P-001, the first animal captured and fitted with an electronic collar in July 2002. P-001 was aggressive and killed females and other animals, and may have been the reason P-22 left the Santa Monica Mountains to find another home.
More than 100 mountain lions are now part of the park service’s study, with four new lion cubs named and numbered in August – P-109, -110, -111 and -112.
“P-022 was our most famous mountain lion and known as our ‘Hollywood Cat,’” the park service posted on its website.
Biologists noticed a change in his behavior, however, starting in November, when he attacked and killed a dog being walked on a leash. Other sightings and close encounters suggested P-22 was in distress, officials said.
In December, the park service worked with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to capture P-22 in the Los Feliz area, and took him to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, officials said.
He was found to have severe injuries, including trauma to his head, eye and internal organs. He also was suffering from irreversible kidney disease, chronic weight loss, a parasitic skin infection and arthritis.
The decision to euthanize him sparked discussions between tribal representatives and wildlife officials about how to handle his remains.
Tribal leaders won assurances that he would not be taxidermied, but discussions had continued about what to do with the samples taken during the necropsy after his death.
Representatives of the Chumash, Tataviam and Gabrielino (Tongva) tribes had requested that the samples should be buried with his body in the ancestral mountain lands where he had been born. To keep the specimens, tribal elders said, would be disrespectful to their traditions, as mountain lions are regarded as relatives and considered to be teachers for the region’s tribal communities.
A compromise was eventually reached but was not disclosed,officials said.
Enduring legacy
A much more public celebration was held earlier this year in Los Angeles at the Greek Theater in Griffith Park in a star-studded memorial with musical performances, tribal blessings, speeches and a video message from California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
A more private burial was planned for the Santa Monica Mountains, where mountain lions still roam the area.
For P-22’s final journey to the burial site, a Natural History Museum woodworker constructed a custom box made from untreated pine and coated it with beeswax and orange oil.
P-22’s body was wrapped in a shroud but was taken out of the box for burial, officials said. At the request of the tribes, the museum will keep the box for future repatriation of other large wild animals.
During the ceremony, tribal members performed traditional songs and made offerings, officials said.
In honor of the territory where P-22 made his home in the city’s urban sprawl, a large boulder from Griffith Park was transported to the site and laid near P-22′s grave, Salazar said.
The ceremony was not recorded and was not open to the public. The location of the grave will not be marked or disclosed.
But P-22’s legacy will live on to help other wild animals, officials said, and a permanent exhibit at the Natural History Museum, “The Story of P-22,” continues to share his story with the public.
“His story is a catalyst for change, inspiring conservation efforts, including the 101 Freeway wildlife crossing and much more,” said Miguel Ordeñana, a wildlife biologist with the museum who first spotted P-22 in 2012 as part of the Griffith Park Connectivity Study.
“Even in his death, P-22 continues to inspire L.A. to embrace urban wildlife conservation and the nature that surrounds us,” he said in a statement. “NHMLAC will continue to share his story, and honor and preserve his legacy for generations to come.”
Our stories are worth telling. Our stories are worth sharing. Our stories are worth your support. Contribute $5 or $10 today to help ICT carry out its critical mission. Sign up for ICT’s free newsletter.
