P-22 memorials appear for the mountain lion in Los Angeles

A woman walks past a mural of a mountain lion that says "Peace and Love P22," with flowers and candles left below

Dec. 22, 2022 5 AM PT

It was an outpouring of grief befitting any Los Angeles celebrity: glamour shots running in news outlets around the world, stunned fans wearing his face on T-shirts, candles left outside his favorite haunts.

Now, Los Angeles is tackling how to memorialize its beloved resident mountain lion, P-22.

Since the mountain lion was euthanized Saturday after being diagnosed with significant injuries and several chronic illnesses, local officials, wildlife advocates and others whose lives were touched by the cougar have been flooded with suggestions about how Los Angeles should honor one of its best-known residents.

Spontaneous tributes have already popped up where P-22 was known to prowl. In Los Feliz, an offering on Vermont Avenue included P-22 prayer candles, a portrait of the big cat and — in a nod to one of his notorious recent meals — two Chihuahua statuettes. A restaurant on Sunset Boulevard changed its marquee to read, “Rest in Puma, P-22. Love, LA.” And at the entrance to Griffith Park on Fern Dell Drive, a bronze bear statue held a bouquet of roses in its paws.

“I would love to see reminders of him all over the city,” said Beth Pratt, a regional executive director in California for the National Wildlife Federation, who was one of P-22’s best-known advocates. “He’s a cat that people built very meaningful and unique relationships with.”

Fans’ suggestions to honor P-22 have run the gamut from the pedestrian to the bizarre: flying the city’s flags at half-staff, renaming a street for him, or displaying an animatronic mountain lion eating a koala, an irreverent reference to one of the big cat’s most infamous meals.

But by far the most popular and likely idea is a statue in Griffith Park, the puma’s home of more than a decade.

P-22 surprised the world when he arrived in Los Feliz in spring 2012, having apparently made a perilous 20-mile journey across two freeways from his birthplace in the Santa Monica Mountains. Scientists had assumed that the adolescent puma wouldn’t stay in Griffith Park long, in part because its nine-square-mile area is about 6% of the size of a typical home range for big cats in the area.

To Angelenos’ surprise, P-22 stayed in the heart of the city for more than 10 years.

Gerry Hans, president of the Friends of Griffith Park — which funded the study that led to the discovery of P-22 in the park — wondered whether a sculpture artist could evoke the most famous photograph of P-22. Taken by National Geographic photographer Steve Winter, the image shows the big cat prowling down a hillside with the Hollywood sign illuminated behind him.

“It would be great if the artist was able to show just how majestic and handsome he was,” Hans said.

The city would need to find an artist and figure out how to pay for the sculpture and its upkeep, officials said. Pratt said there would be no shortage of donations from big cat lovers. Then there’s the question of where the statue would go.

“Do we put it in one of the places where he was known to roam, and let people encounter it?” said Laura Friedman, a member of the state Assembly whose district is just north of Griffith Park. Having the cat’s likeness appearing to hikers on a trail or a hillside could help evoke the excitement of discovery that he inspired during his life, she said.

Others have suggested the Griffith Observatory, where P-22’s statue would sit near the bust of another California icon, James Dean.

Hans said his hope is that the statue could teach visitors to Griffith Park about the plight of urban animals cut off from their kin by development, and about the rich ecosystem within the park that supported the appetite of an apex predator for a decade.

Friends of Griffith Park is also more than a year into planning a mural that features P-22, Hans said. The city is considering the plans for a mural that would be painted by two local artists across three north-facing walls at the Griffith Park Visitor’s Center auditorium.

An artist paints a black-and-white memorial of cougar P-22.

“It celebrates P-22, but also the ecology of the park,” Hans said. The mountain lion is in the mural, he said, “but he sort of blends into the surroundings, and as the artist put it, he’s hidden in plain sight.”

P-22’s longtime fans, including Pratt, had long hoped to see the big cat receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, perhaps with a set of paw prints in the concrete outside the TCL Chinese Theater. It would pay tribute, they thought, to his status as a cat with real star power and a celebrity fan base.

But the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which handles the installation and upkeep of the stars, always told advocates no. P-22’s death has not changed that answer, said spokeswoman Ana Martinez.

“He doesn’t qualify, unfortunately,” Martinez said. “He’s not an entertainer.”

Several animals have stars, including Lassie, who was played by nine dogs in 11 films and hundreds of television episodes. P-22’s appearance in a documentary is not enough to qualify him as a working member of the industry, Martinez said.

Anyone honored with a star on the Walk of Fame has to have been “in the business of entertainment for more than five years, they have to be nominated or receive awards, and they have to do charitable contributions,” Martinez said. “That is the criteria.”

P-22’s legacy will also continue through scientific research. For most of his life, he was tracked by the U.S. National Park Service through his boxy collar. Researchers have been studying the movements of pumas in the Santa Monica Mountains since 2002.

After P-22 died in San Diego on Saturday, researchers mobilized to begin collecting genetic samples from his body, which will contribute to studies on genetics, reproduction and health among the state’s mountain lions, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said.

Researchers usually don’t have immediate access to mountain lions that die in the wild, so P-22’s presence provided a rare opportunity for high-quality genetic samples, said Seth Riley, wildlife branch chief for the National Park Service.

“This was an opportunity for him to contribute to something that’s going to give us information across the whole state about the species,” Riley said.

A woman with a straw hat walks with a cardboard cut out of a mountain lion near light green hills.

One of P-22’s most significant legacies is already under construction: a wildlife bridge across a 10-lane stretch of the 101 Freeway at Liberty Canyon, which activists hope will help prevent the kind of isolation that P-22 came to embody.

The bridge won’t connect to Griffith Park, but P-22 was the face of a fundraising campaign that drew support from Leonardo DiCaprio’s foundation and people around the world.

“The most fitting memorial to P-22 is carrying his story forward,” said Winter, the photographer. “We owe it to P-22, and all California wildlife, to build more crossings and to connect more habitats for them.”

Changes to streets within Griffith Park could also honor P-22’s memory, City Councilmember Nithya Raman said.

P-22 was hit by a driver shortly before he was captured by wildlife officials this month. The big cat was already in poor health, suffering from kidney failure and a highly contagious skin condition that was eroding his coat. But the vehicle strike also caused significant injuries, including a fractured skull.

After his death, some constituents called to reduce or eliminate vehicle traffic in more areas of the park to protect humans and wildlife, Raman said.

“I didn’t expect to hear that after his death,” Raman said. “But that is something that has come up, and that’s something I’m excited about.”