The Editor’s Note

The weekend before Christmas I flew down to Southern California to meet some friends and attend my school Fresno State’s football bowl game at Los Angeles’ spectacular SoFi Stadium.

Besides how awesome the facility was and that Fresno State defeated Washington State to put us Bulldog fans in a festive mood, I spent significant days in Los Angeles for the first time in almost 20 years since I lived and worked there.

And while I can honestly say I was never a big fan of the region and don’t have the greatest memories of my experiences there for various reasons, the beautiful, mostly smog-free sunny weather that late December weekend had me recalling some surprisingly pleasant memories. Most of those were when I was able to get out of the city and find some peace in some of SoCal’s wilderness areas and parks. There The mountain lion P-22, which became a bit was a set of walking of a Southern California celebrity as it roamed trails less than a couple miles from around Los Angeles’ urban Griffith Park area, was humanely euthanized after experiencing health issues. (NATIONAL PARK SERVICE) my Thousand Oaks home, bass fishing at Lake Casitas near Ojai and some great hikes in the Santa Monica Mountains.

I also occasionally checked out Griffith Park, tucked away between Glendale and Hollywood. Griffith Park could get crowded – hey, it’s Southern California; you had to expect that! – but it still felt like an oasis among the chaos of the Southland. It was also home to the mountain lion P-22, a star in a city of stars and starlets. Los Angelinos embraced the critter similar to the way they love their Lakers, In-N-Out Burger and the Santa Monica Pier.

Maybe it was because L.A. loves a Hollywood tale that’s both upbeat and tragic at the same time – P-22 was beloved by many but also had no place to go while trapped in its Griffith Park safe haven and surrounded by urban sprawl - and maybe it’s because we all need to rally behind a P-22 in our busy lives.

In December, California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the National Park Service were concerned about the animal’s well-being after it was believed it was hit by a car. A successful tranquilizing and subsequent wellness check detected enough health concerns that prompted officials to humanely euthanize SoCal’s real-life lion king.

The deceased mountain lion trended on social media and tributes were posted by Gov. Gavin Newsom, actor Chad Lowe, filmmaker Jay Duplass and everyday locals.

“Mountain lion P-22 has had an extraordinary life and captured the hearts of the people of Los Angeles and beyond,” the joint CDFW/NPS press release stated. “The most difficult, but compassionate choice was to respectfully minimize his suffering and stress by humanely ending his journey.”

Hopefully another one is beginning, and that animal will have plenty of room to stretch its legs this time. P-22’s life was a real L.A. story in a city known for make-believe ones. -Chris Cocoles

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