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The Times podcast: The mountain lion that captured L.A.’s heart

Photo of P-22 taken with a remote camera in Griffith Park.
Photo of P-22 taken with a remote camera in Griffith Park. It has been over a decade since P-22 surprised the world by appearing in Griffith Park, which scientists had considered too small and too choked with freeways to support an apex predator.
(Miguel Ordeñana/Natural History Museum)
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He’s animal royalty in the City of Angels; an ambassador for conservation and for the random beauty this megalopolis offers. But P-22 is also a poster boy for something sadder. The mountain lion is thought to be about 12, and nearing the end of his life. He’s an eternal bachelor, cut off from the rest of his species and a symbol of what’s left of L.A.’s once-incredible ecosystems that are just barely holding on.

Today, the story of the cougar who stole L.A.’s heart. Read the full transcript here.

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Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times enterprise reporter Laura J. Nelson

More reading:

He’s terminally single and getting old. What’s next for P-22, L.A.’s favorite wild bachelor?

A week in the life of P‑22, the big cat who shares Griffith Park with millions of people

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Must Reads: Mountain lions are being killed on freeways and weakened by inbreeding. Researchers have a solution

About The Times

“The Times” is produced by Shannon Lin, Denise Guerra, Kasia Brousalian, David Toledo and Ashlea Brown. Our editorial assistants are Madalyn Amato and Carlos De Loera. Our intern is Surya Hendry. Our engineers are Mario Diaz, Mark Nieto and Mike Heflin. Our editor is Kinsee Morlan. Our executive producers are Jazmin Aguilera and Shani Hilton. And our theme music is by Andrew Eapen.
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