mobanmarketLOS ANGELES, CA — City officials are exploring ways to honor the late, great mountain lion P-22 in his “home turf” of Griffith Park.
The City Council on Friday laid the groundwork for a permanent memorial for the cougar when members voted to create a special committee of the Griffith Park Advisory Board to study the matter. It also instructs city staffers to report back to he council within 120 days with a proposal of of memorial and/or donation-based memorial program dedicated to the memory of P-22.
The committee will include city personnel and private stakeholders to determine the location and design for the memorial.
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The plan was introduced by Councilmember Nithya Raman.
“I had the great honor of representing the area where P-22 lived in Council District 4, where he achieved celebrity status after completing an Odyssey-like journey, crossing the 405 and the 101, and trekking over 20 miles to reach his new home of Griffith Park over a decade ago,” Raman said in a statement. “It only makes sense that we pay tribute to his legacy with a permanent memorial on his home turf, where visitors can come pay their respects and learn more about his invaluable contributions to wildlife conservation. P-22 was important to so many Angelenos, and I’m looking forward to the results of a participatory, community-driven process to determine what that permanent memorial will look like.”
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The move comes after the City Council earlier this year began exploring a plan.
After he was born around 2010 in the western Santa Monica Mountains, P-22 trekked east across the 101 and 405 Freeways – the only cougar known to successfully complete both risky crossings – before eventually making a home around Griffith Park.
First identified by wildlife officials in 2012, he soon became one of Los Angeles’ most famous residents and became a frequent fixture in backyard surveillance camera footage and news reports.
He became a symbol of urban wildlife safety and conservation. P-22 was an inspiration for the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing over the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills, which is meant to reduce vehicle collisions with wildlife.
P-22 was euthanized in December for serious health issues, including injuries he sustained after being hit by a car. He was celebrated at a sold-out tribute at the Greek Theatre in February.
He was buried at an undisclosed location in the Santa Monica Mountains after a tribal ceremony in March.
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