A N I M A L
by stefani greenwood
Did you know there is a mountain lion living in Griffith Park? The park service thinks the 3 year old male is most likely from the Santa Monica region, which means he travelled across the 405 and 101 freeways. Or that it came from the San Gabriel region, traversing through storm drains and neighborhood streets. I love thinking about this guys adventures and all of the other animals that are walking around in urban areas. According to an LA Times article, there have been 14 mountain lion attacks since 1890, six of which resulted in death. That doesn’t seem too worrisome, but just in case – do not run, if you have children or animals keep them close, start yelling, waving your arms and throw things. He will most likely be noshing on the mule deer in the park. Sorry sweet deer – one of you a week will most likely have to go.
The mountain lion has been caught, tagged with a GPS collar, and is named Puma 22. He is about 2 or 3 years of age. Good luck out there P.
In my searching, I found a cool site called Urban Carnivores. The goal of the website is to inform the public about research being done on native carnivores in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties by UCLA and National Park Service biologists. Worth a look if you want to know what else is out there.
I am glad that they are tracking and monitoring the mountain lions, i hope the one at Griffith Park stays safe..
it is interesting and i am glad too. i look forward to learning more about it’s life.
The other day a 2-3 year old mountain lion found his way into Santa Monica. He was eventually shot by the police. Where are the wild animals supposed to go when man keeps devouring their habitat?
Thanks for props to the Urban Carnivores website. This lion (P22) is definitely from the Santa Monica Mountains. Wanted to let you know we are on Facebook (Urban Carnivores page) and twitter (@UrbanCarnivores) too. The more followers we have, the more the word gets out about our local wildlife and the threats they face. So please spread the word! Thanks!