Hollywood Cat is not.
The Los Angeles space’s most well-known mountain lion, an aged wild male feline sighted across the metropolis’s Griffith Park, was euthanized Saturday, wildlife officers mentioned.
For years, it was recognized to prowl across the hillside “Hollywood” signal seen round a lot of Los Angeles, a becoming setting for a star cat.
It earned the nickname Hollywood Cat, however the mountain lion — estimated to be round 11 years previous — is formally known as P-22.
State and federal wildlife officers determined earlier this month to seize it attributable to its erratic habits, maybe related to being struck by a car.
Veterinarians discovered “vital trauma” to its head, proper eye and inside organs, California’s Division of Fish and Wildlife mentioned in a press release.
The specialists additionally discovered underlying well being points, together with “irreversible kidney illness, power weight reduction, in depth parasitic pores and skin an infection over his total physique and localized arthritis.”
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“Probably the most troublesome, however compassionate selection was to respectfully decrease his struggling and stress by humanely ending his journey,” the assertion mentioned.
“Mountain lion P-22 has had a unprecedented life and captured the hearts of the folks of Los Angeles and past.”
Euthanizing the cougar was a punch to the intestine for recreation specialists who had grown to like the animal.
“This actually hurts,” mentioned Chuck Bonham, director of the Division of Fish and Wildlife, when he introduced P-22’s demise, in accordance with USA At the moment.
“It has been an extremely troublesome a number of days.”
‘Our favourite celeb’
Congressman Adam Schiff, who represents a part of Los Angeles County, mentioned he was “heartbroken” at P-22’s passing.
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“He was our favourite celeb neighbor, occasional troublemaker, and beloved L.A. mascot,” Schiff tweeted.
“However most of all he was a powerful, wild creature, who reminded us that we’re a part of a pure world a lot larger than ourselves.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom praised P-22’s “unimaginable journey” in a press release.
“P-22’s survival on an island of wilderness within the coronary heart of Los Angeles captivated folks world wide,” Newsom mentioned.
Griffith Park, the place P-22 lived for maybe a decade, is hemmed in by freeways and concrete sprawl. It’s a nine-square-mile (23-square-kilometer) remoted patch of nature.
Specialists marveled at how the wild cat acquired throughout both of two main Los Angeles freeways — the 405 and 101 — to get to Griffith Park as early as 2012.
Officers mentioned they weren’t on the lookout for the motive force who hit it.
“This case shouldn’t be the fault of P-22, nor of a driver who could have hit him,” the California Division of Fish and Wildlife mentioned.
“Quite, it’s an eventuality that arises from habitat loss and fragmentation, and it underscores the necessity for considerate development of wildlife crossings and well-planned areas that present wild animals room to roam.”
In a profile of P-22 accomplished lengthy earlier than its demise, the Nationwide Park Service lamented that Griffith Park is just too small for a second cougar, and “it is unlikely he’ll ever discover love with a feminine lion.”
The cat’s renown was attributable to frequent sightings, video doorbell cameras and bodily encounters.
A Fb web page in honor of the cougar has greater than 20,000 followers.
