Los Angeles’ most celebrated upland lion, known for roaming crossed freeways and making a sprawling municipality parkland his home, was captured Monday by wildlife officials who privation to analyse the large feline aft helium killed a canine that was being walked successful the Hollywood Hills.
The cougar, dubbed P-22, wears a GPS tracking collar arsenic portion of a National Park Service survey and is regularly recorded connected information cameras strolling done residential areas adjacent LA’s Griffith Park, a wilderness and picnic area.
P-22 was successful unchangeable information aft being deed with a tranquilizer dart successful the trendy Los Feliz vicinity adjacent the park, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said successful an announcement with the National Park Service.
Los Feliz nonmigratory Sarah Picchi told the Los Angeles Times that P-22 was tranquilized successful her backmost gait soon earlier 11am. Picchi said Fish and Wildlife officers rang astatine her beforehand gross and said: “‘You person a lion successful your backmost yard’,”.
“Of course, I knew it was P-22 due to the fact that I’ve been pursuing the story”, she told the newspaper.
An anonymous study Sunday nighttime indicated that P-22 whitethorn person been struck by a vehicle, wildlife officials said. After being examined, authorities volition “determine the champion adjacent steps for the carnal portion besides prioritizing the information of surrounding communities,” the associated connection said.
“P-22 is simply a remarkably aged feline successful the chaotic and, aft being deemed liable for sidesplitting a leashed favored past month, whitethorn beryllium exhibiting signs of distress,” the agencies said successful a 8 December connection announcing that the celebrated cougar would beryllium captured.
They didn’t bespeak what mightiness hap to the cougar.
P-22 is believed to beryllium astir 12 years old, making him the oldest Southern California cougar presently being studied. Most upland lions unrecorded astir a decade.
“This is an unprecedented concern successful which a upland lion has continued to past successful specified an municipality setting. As P-22 has aged, however, the challenges associated with surviving connected an land of situation look to beryllium expanding and scientists are noting a caller alteration successful his behavior,” the authorities wildlife section said past week.
P-22 usually hunts cervid and coyotes, but successful November the National Park Service confirmed that the cougar attacked and killed a chihuahua premix that was being walked successful the constrictive streets of the Hollywood Hills.
The cougar besides is suspected of attacking different chihuahua successful the Silver Lake vicinity this month.
P-22 was the look of the run to physique a wildlife crossing implicit a Los Angeles-area freeway to springiness large cats, coyotes, cervid and different wildlife a harmless way to the adjacent Santa Monica Mountains.
J.P. Rose, argumentation manager for the Center for Biological Diversity, said P-22’s distress successful his aged property “underscores the request to proactively support upland lions and different wildlife by reconnecting our landscape.”
“Wildlife request country to roam to support carnal populations and radical steadfast and safe. State officials indispensable support upland lions nether the California Endangered Species Act and LA indispensable follow a beardown connectivity ordinance truthful different wildlife are not doomed to a beingness of isolation,“ Rose said successful a statement.
The bridge, which volition agelong 200 feet (61 meters) implicit US 101, broke crushed this twelvemonth and is expected to beryllium completed by aboriginal 2025.