Guest Blog

Puma 22 - A Remembrance

By Joanne Parrent

In September 2022, we lost Truman, our feisty little pup who had lived with us for 17 years. He taught us to appreciate the difference in the needs of two species – human and canine – who lived so closely together. He taught us the need for daily walks, he showed us we had to stop and smell not just the roses, but whatever his amazing nose was onto. His friendly spirit taught us we had to let him stop and sniff neighbor dogs and to be friendly (for him with a tail wag, for us with a smile or hello) to passing people. 

In December 2022, the city I live in, Los Angeles, lost its famous mountain lion, known as P-22, who had lived in the city’s largest park – Griffith Park which has many acres of wild land – for 10 years. We live in the hills of Los Angeles but not near Griffith Park so we didn’t have sightings of P-22 like lots of Angelenos who live in the communities surrounding the park. But living with wild animals is a part of living in Los Angeles. We had to protect Truman from large families of racoons that frequently wandered into our yard and from packs of coyotes that would scamper down the street looking for prey, including any unleashed dogs. We delight at the frequent sightings of white-tailed rabbits and even the occasional possum or deer family. We listen to the owls speaking to each other at night or the call of the common poorwill. We watch the hawks and ravens soar above us and the hummingbirds, doves, jays and all manner of finches and other birds drinking and bathing at the water feature in our backyard. We are lucky to share our home with such creatures, great and small. Los Angeles in this way is unlike any large city I have lived in or visited.

As most Angelenos know, P-22 came to LA in a daring move, crossing two busy freeways to get from the Santa Monica Mountains to his decade-long home in Griffith Park. He was probably looking for a mate and wanted territory he wouldn’t have to share with other mountain lions. Pumas need large areas to live in, but he adapted to his smaller home. And, like our dogs, P-22 became LA’s favorite pet. Like Truman, he was a good boy. He didn’t prey on small leashed dogs that he must have understood were human companions until the last days of his life – a sign to people that he was in distress. When people then sedated him and vets examined him, they found he was suffering from several diseases and had recently been hit by a car, fracturing his skull. He had avoided cars for many years, always looking both ways before crossing streets but his kidney and heart diseases were affecting his ability to survive. The vets could not alleviate his suffering so, like we do with our dogs who cannot be helped, he was euthanized. His obituary with several pictures was on the front page of the Los Angeles Times the next day.

Like our dogs, his decade of living with us in Los Angeles, taught us to better appreciate species unlike our own. He taught us about mountain lions and how they need to roam. Now the City and nonprofit partners are building a wildlife corridor across the freeways to allow these magnificent animals to roam farther. With our incessant development, we have encroached so much on the territory of wildlife, limiting their livelihood, but P-22 taught us we need to give back to them. Like we take care of our dogs, and it makes us better humans for it, taking care of the needs of the wildlife that surrounds us, makes us a better City. P-22 captured Los Angeles’ collective heart and taught us all so much. 

Joanne Parrent is a writer and private investigator living in Los Angeles.