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Could Griffith Park Have A New Resident Mountain Lion? Officials Investigate Latest Sighting
The mountain lion in Griffith Park.
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Courtesy Vladimir Polumiskov
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No one believed Vladimir Polumiskov four months ago when he said he saw a mountain lion zoom past as he was driving in his apartment's parking lot at the edge of Griffith Park.
Last week, it happened again when he said he saw a mountain lion in the bushes along the parking lot and then again a few hours laters up in a tree.
This time, though, he had his phone ready.
The images and video he took that night have now sparked efforts to capture the cougar and see if it has taken up residence in the park that famously hosted P-22, the tagged mountain lion that was euthanized in 2022 after suffering injuries consistent with being hit by a car.
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Capturing and collaring
The National Park Service is now working to confirm if the latest lion is regularly prowling Griffith Park.
Seth Riley, a wildlife ecologist with the National Park Service, said officials will be looking for mountain lion tracks and then install remote cameras. If they find that the mountain lion regularly comes into Griffith Park, they will attempt to capture and collar it.
“Sometimes it can be just a few days, if you get lucky, and they come by the right place, or it can be weeks or months. It just depends,” Riley said.
Beth Pratt, regional executive director for the National Wildlife Federation, said people who live around Griffith Park should share security camera footage with the National Park Service if they spot the lion. And if they see it at night, refrain from using flash photography, she added.
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Memories of P-22
In the 10 years that P-22 roamed Griffith Park, the mountain lion become an icon — not only for being a top predator in a busy, urban park, but for his ability to navigate across two highly trafficked freeways from the Santa Monica Mountains to get there. So it's only natural that the newest mountain lion, if confirmed to be a regular, will have big shoes to fill.
“It, to me, is a testament to the resiliency of wild things,” Pratt said. “Griffith Park wasn't a one off for a mountain lion ... these cats are trying to live on this landscape, and here's a second one trying to fill P-22's shoes.”
There could also be even tighter tether to P-22's legacy. If the recently spotted lion is found to be a regular visitor and is successfully collared, it will be assigned the number P-122.
“You couldn't write this, make this up in a Hollywood script,” Pratt said. “What P-22 did was show us what's possible and I think that's why I love that this could be called P-122.”
Still, Pratt said she's still worried for the latest cat given that Griffith Park is still dangerous territory given that it's surrounded by busy roadways.
“We have solved the biggest connectivity problem in the region with the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing,” she said. “But there's so much more to do. There's so many more roads that wildlife needs safe passage for.”
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The wildlife crossing over the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills will be the world’s largest freeway overpass for animals once it's constructed. Work on the project could last until early 2026.
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The National Park Service asks people in areas where mountain lions live to follow these safety precautions:
- Do not jog or hike alone. Go in groups with adults supervising children.
- Keep children close to you. Do not allow children to play along river banks, in heavy vegetation, or alone at dawn or dusk. When hiking with children, watch them closely and never let them run ahead of you. Observations of captured wild mountain lions reveal that the animals seem especially drawn to children.
If you encounter a lion, remember the goals are to convince it that you are not prey and that you may be dangerous. Follow these safety tips:
- Do not approach a lion. Most mountain lions will try to avoid a confrontation. Give them a way to escape.
- Do not run from a lion. Running may stimulate a mountain lion's instinct to chase. Instead, stand and face the animal. Make eye contact. If you have small children with you, pick them up if possible so that they don't panic and run. Although it may be awkward, pick them up without bending over or turning away from the mountain lion.
- Do not crouch down or bend over. A human standing up is just not the right shape for a lion's prey. Conversely, a person squatting or bending over resembles a four-legged prey animal. In mountain lion country, avoid squatting, crouching or bending over, even when picking up children.
- Do all you can to appear larger. Raise your arms. Open your jacket if you are wearing one. Again, pick up small children. Throw stones, branches, or whatever you can reach without crouching or turning your back. Wave your arms slowly and speak firmly in a loud voice. The idea is to convince the mountain lion that you are not prey and that you may be a danger to it.
- Fight back if attacked. A hiker in southern California used a rock to fend off a mountain lion that was attacking his son. Others have fought back successfully with sticks, caps, jackets, garden tools and their bare hands. Since a mountain lion usually tries to bite the head or neck, try to remain standing and face the attacking animal.
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