Another day in L.A., another celebrity suspected of going on a killing spree. The celebrity suspect in this case goes by the name of P-22 (and no, he isn’t a rapper). P-22 is the designation conservationists have given a young mountain lion living in Griffith Park, near Hollywood. P-22 was recently lionized (sorry, couldn’t resist) by CBS’s 60 Minutes in a story about efforts to make Los Angeles more wildlife-friendly. The puma made his first star-turn in National Geographic, which snapped a picture of the hep cat prowling by the Hollywood sign.
Griffith Park also happens to be home to the Los Angeles Zoo, one of whose koala bears mysteriously disappeared. What was left of the cuddly koala’s cuddly carcass was found down the road from the zoo. P-22 wasn’t actually seen eating the unfortunate marsupial, but the lion was spotted, as they say, in the vicinity.
National Park spokesman Kate Kuykendall told a local TV station there wasn’t anything to worry about: If P-22 did indeed raid the zoo for his dinner, “This wouldn’t be an example of him behaving aggressively or abnormally.” That’s a relief.
A couple of weeks ago, The Scrapbook noted a study by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife that found P-22’s diet is no anomaly. Mountain lions are supposed to make deer their main dish, but it turns out California’s big cats have been making regular meals of house pets and livestock. Ranchers are told to keep their sheep and goats locked in covered enclosures. And it’s best not to leave toddlers unattended.
All very helpful information. However, until this point there had not been a circular with specific advice for keeping koala bears from being eaten. An oversight, we’re sure.
If you are a wildlife advocate concerned that P-22 may be getting himself in trouble, don’t worry. Notoriety rarely dents the careers of photogenic predators. Consider other recent California celebrity news: Just released from prison, one Jeremy Meeks was met with a flurry of job offers, according to his agent. Meeks catapulted to social-media fame in 2014 when Stockton police posted his mugshot online, and the Facebook world found him to be dreamy in a dangerous sort of way. Oh! the “chiseled” jaw. Oh! the teardrop tattoo (a gangland commendation, Meeks allows, for doing some things he “isn’t proud of”). The “Hot Felon” (Meeks’s social-media moniker) will now be a model and, let’s hope, perhaps even a model citizen. At least he won’t be a threat to koala bears.
