Celebrity Mountain Lion P-22 Euthanized

17.12.2022 - 22:27 / deadline.com

The mountain lion known as P-22, who lived in highly urban Griffith Park for more than a decade, was “compassionately euthanized” Saturday morning because of the serious injuries he suffered earlier this week and his generally poor condition, according to the California Dept. of Fish & Wildlife’s director,.

P-22 was thought to be about 12 years old.

The National Park Service and the state’s wildlife department captured the mountain lion this week. The lion had begun roaming further and further outside his Griffith Park domain, wandering into densely populated residential areas. He recently attacked and killed a chihuahua and attempted to grab another small dog. Those attacks prompted officials to capture him for an examination.

He was captured in the backyard of a Los Feliz home near several schools, including John Marshall High School.

Experts said the cat was exhibiting what was termed “signs of distress” in the last month, and apparently was hit by a car and suffered an eye injury. Upon examination after his capture, he was said to be extremely underweight and suffering from a skin condition.

The mountain lion was not healthy enough to be released back to Griffith Park, state wildlife officials said. There had been some hopes of a retirement to a nature preserve, but those were dashed by his long list of medical problems that made his long-term survival problematic.

P-22 was first spotted in Griffith Park 2013. The park is in the middle of urban Los Angeles, but its mountains were home to P-22, who could feast on mule deer and other small creatures while sticking to the high country. He was believed to have been born in the Santa Monica mountains, and had to cross two highly trafficked highways to get to Griffith