Former New York Resident Encounters Hollywood's Famed Mountain Lion P-22
On his first weekend in L.A., Kevin Prince caught a glimpse of the elusive mountain lion. He had just parked his car when he saw what he thought was a Golden Retriever.
When the "Golden Retriever" moved, Kevin was sure he had been mistaken. The animal moved like Mufasa from 'The Lion King,' and that's when he knew the creature on the steps of his new home was a lion.
After a few minutes of Google searches, he realized that the lion he encountered was no ordinary mountain lion. This was L.A., after all, and that large cat was the famous P-22 of Griffith Park.
Kevin's curiosity about P-22 won him over, and he installed motion cameras surrounding his home. He hoped to see P-22 at least one more time.
Admittedly, Kevin was so unaccustomed to seeing a mountain lion roaming around a residential neighborhood that he called park services. He was informed that it is common to see the lions in their area since it is their home.
Since then, Kevin has seen P-22 a total of four times strolling about his patio. He has successfully recorded these sightings thanks to his motion cameras.
P-22 is not the only nighttime visitor passing through Kevin's home. Possums, raccoons, and coyotes are also frequent visitors, but P-22 remains the most special.
Kevin has dubbed P-22 as the Brad Pitt of Mountain Lions
Kevin has made an Instagram account documenting the animals that pass through his L.A. home
Here is P-22 seemingly curious about the garden hose strewn across the patio of Kevin's home
The National Park Service did confirm that the mountain lion Kevin saw was indeed P-22
The P in P-22's name stands for puma. Before he became Griffith Park's resident celebrity cougar, P-22 was first sighted in 2012 by wildlife biologist Miguel Ordeñana.
The cougar was already two years old when he was first seen on camera. Through genetic testing, biologists discovered that P-22 was actually born in the Santa Monica Mountains.
This means P-22 crossed two busy freeways to get to Griffith Park!
Mountain lions have to leave when they are a year old to find their own territory
P-22 chose to cross two major freeways to find his new territory. Cougars like P-22 typically need a large area for themselves, but since his journey brought him to Griffith Park, the lion is confined to an area of just 8 square miles.
His solitary habitat means P-22 has free reign with the other wildlife, but this also means he is unlikely to find a mate
The National Park Service reassures that mountain lions generally do not interact with humans and pose no significant threat. Their prey consists of smaller creatures such as deer and sometimes other mountain lions who cross their territories.
P-22 is a stealthy big cat and hasn't reportedly harmed any humans. It is still best to stay vigilant and keep a safe distance from him.
Still, the Brad Pitt of Mountain Lions remains a Griffith Park celebrity because, according to Kevin, "He is handsome AF!"
P-22 has his own Instagram account that has a considerable following
You can watch P-22's fourth visit to Kevin's home below:
P-22 looks comfortable in expensive real estate, doesn't he?
You can see the other residents' excitement when they saw P-22 in this news report below:
Some residents, like Kevin, were initially baffled by P-22's presence in their area. Some actually thought they were hallucinating when they saw the lion's face pressed up against their window in the middle of the night!
Now, P-22 has captured everyone's curiosity and interest. Consider yourself lucky if P-22 chooses to show himself to you because these pumas are usually elusive, and we cannot all be as fortunate as Kevin, who saw P-22 four times! Welcome to L.A.!
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