Mountain lion P-22 spotted roaming Hollywood Hills streets
The mountain lion famously known as P-22 was spotted roaming through the Hollywood Hills, climbing and jumping off fences Wednesday night and early Thursday, according to officials and video footage captured by residents.
The big cat ambled across the street in front of a doorbell camera in Beachwood Canyon around 4:40 a.m. Thursday, resident Arielle Lafuente said. The mountain lion then passed by her house again after the sun came up, around 6:30.
A resident’s surveillance camera captured video Wednesday night of a mountain lion jumping off a fence onto the street in the Hollywood Hills.
“He was prowling for hours over here,” she said. “It’s definitely exciting. We do have a dog who did not want to go out the door around 6:30 at his usual walk time and then was very interested in the scents outside.”
Another neighbor who requested anonymity caught the cat jumping off the fence by his residence, footage shows.
While Lafuente is used to catching packs of coyotes on her camera, this was the first time she saw a mountain lion.
Officials confirmed the identity of the golden feline, saying it was bachelor cat P-22, whose home territory is Griffith Park.
Angelenos can’t help but see themselves in P-22. He’s carved out a life in a crowded city. And though he’s still handsome for his advanced age, he’s terminally single.
“P-22 is a celebrity cat and any sighting of him at least for a lot of people is news, but it’s not unusual,” said Ana Beatriz Cholo, a spokeswoman for the National Parks Service. “He lives in Griffith Park and the hills are right there, so he occasionally does venture out into other neighborhoods. It’s all part of his hood.”
P-22 is sporting his signature GPS collar in the videos.
P-22 ended up in Griffith Park about 10 years ago after leaving his original home in the Santa Monica Mountains and crossing the 101 and 405 freeways.
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