Blog

P-22 is a mountain lion who has made Griffith Park his home for many years. He is about 11, which is old for lions. When I first moved to L.A., what thrilled me the most was that there were actual predators—Lions and bobcats and bears, oh my! Coyotes roaming my street made me happy. This was the best part of Southern California.

P-22 (I wish he had a real name) is a silent stalker of deer, coyotes, raccoon and once, koala bears at the Los Angeles zoo. He must recognize the danger leaving the park, even with the urge to mate. Unfortunately he hasn’t much chance of passing on his legacy. Most lions in Southern California are killed on the freeways, and occasionally by hunters.

P-22 has survived all odds, including rodenticide poisoning and 6 lane road crossings. He is hemmed in by freeways, his territory is basically the 8 miles within the park boundaries. Most lions have nearly 20 times that territory to roam and defend. He is a LA celebrity, but a sad one, perhaps the last of his kind.

I haven’t painted many cats but I am enchanted by their power and grace, and their gorgeous eyes. 40 million years of evolution has given this cat supreme powers of stalking and invisibility. But that hasn’t prepared the puma for encounters with humans, who have extirpated them throughout much of their range. As long as there are still cougars out there, wilderness itself survives.