for our Calif members and everyone else who loved P-22

[danny burstein]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/service-for-p-22-mountain-lion-celebration-of-life-tribute-los-angeles-11675469317?st=dbvp33f9d4j46fd&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dan...@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]

[Rose Ellen Auerbach]

That captured everything so well. 

People who haven't spent time in LA often don't realize how much of the area is undeveloped and designated to stay that way. Griffith Park, where P-22 lived and the memorial took place, is this huge spread right in the middle of the city. The Santa Monica Mountains cut right though the city. The Angeles Forest is a stone's throw from Pasadena. 

We're used to urban wildlife in these parts, but it's usually skunks or rattlesnakes or the very occasional deer. Then P-22 showed up, looked around and basically said, "Eh, not the home I went looking for, but I can work with this." And the local humans looked at this huge cat who was just a little out of place, and said, "Awesome new neighbor. Yeah, we know: Don't pet the kitty. Should we leave some water out?" 

Other cities have stories about seldom-seen creatures that roam the hills, but those are usually cryptids like Bigfoot. In LA, we had a freakin'  documented mountain lion. His being here was a fluke, but it led to the construction of a wildlife bridge. It's mostly to help increase genetic diversity among various wildlife populations split by highways - but if another lion takes the bridge and wanders down to Griffith Park, we're not going to be mad about it. 

--Rose

[Debbie Speer]

Thanks, Rose.

P-22 was, well, the 22nd tracked puma in a National Park Service study that began when my brother Woody (perfect name, eh?) was Superintendent of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. He took a job at Yosemite just after P-22 turned up and is retired now. But the program started some 20 years ago under his watch. 

Woody told me, when that study started, how difficult it was because many of the ranchers and other property owners adjacent to the SMMNRA hated that the mountain lions were being protected under the study -- and let him and the NPS know it. And a lot of them were $$$ people who complained loudly to the Powers That Be and wanted them moved or eradicated rather than be bothered themselves to secure their llamas or alpacas or sheep or whatever they were raising from wild predators who were there first. And by eradicated, I mean there were instances of the animals being shot, and poisoned bait being put out for them.

They wouldn't DARE now. And the start of the wildlife crossing is just further testament of how much has changed in 20 years. Thanks to P-22. 

sniff

Deb

 

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Deborah Speer

Features Editor

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