'Long Live The King': New Mural Painted In Memory Of LA’s Celebrity Mountain Lion
Corrie Mattie painted a tribute to P-22, the recently deceased cougar, wearing a crown and the words "Long Live the King" with a stroke of her brush.
A sweeping new street mural has been dedicated to the memory of one of Los Angeles' most renowned residents by an artist. P-22, the famed mountain lion that took up home in the city and was euthanized this weekend due to deteriorating health and injuries possibly caused by a car, was the subject.
Corie Mattie has erected a tribute on the side of a building depicting the beloved large cat wearing a crown and the words "Long Live the King" with a stroke of her brush. She painted a different mural memorial to P-22 earlier this year, where residents placed flowers after the cougar died, news agency Associated Press (AP) reported.
"He's still the king of the hill," Mattie said, "There will never be another P-22," the AP reported quoting KABC-TV.
P-22 became the face of a campaign to build a wildlife crossing over a Los Angeles highway to provide big cats, coyotes, deer, and other wildlife with a safe route to the neighbouring Santa Monica Mountains, where they can wander freely.
The cougar was frequently captured on security cameras wandering into residential neighbourhoods near his habitat in Griffith Park, a city sanctuary of hiking trails and picnic areas. P-22, who had been fitted with a tracking collar, was captured for examination in a home backyard on December 12, a month after killing a Chihuahua on a dogwalker's leash.
P-22 was euthanized after doctors discovered he had a skull fracture and chronic conditions such as a skin infection and kidney and liver disorders, according to wildlife officials.
The Remarkable Life Of Famed Mountain Lion P-22:
He was a symbol, the face of a campaign, the subject of songs, and the source of inspiration for an entire community. But P-22, the most famous mountain lion in Los Angeles, if not the world, was also a cat, and the cat had grown elderly.
P-22's death sparked an outpouring of grief and admiration for the wild influencer who rose to international fame. Mourners congregated in Griffith Park, the Hollywood Hills park he called home for ten years, and social media was swamped with condolences. The California governor stepped in, saying his "survival on an island of wilderness" had "captivated the world," as reported by The Guardian.
The journey of P-22 to Griffith Park began many miles away in the Santa Monica mountains west of Los Angeles. P-22 was born in 2010 and his name was inspired by a study of mountain lions in the area. The letter P stands for puma, and the number refers to the specific animal being tracked by National Park Service scientists, as per the report.
P-22 departed the Santa Monica Mountains in 2012 and embarked on a spectacular 50-mile trek that carried him across two major Los Angeles highways, evading traffic and human detection, according to the report. He ultimately found the wilderness of Griffith Park to establish his range, which at 8 square miles was arguably the smallest wandering territory of any known mountain lion (a male cat's territory is typically 150 square miles).
According to the report, P-22 shot to prominence after being captured on camera in Griffith Park a decade ago. He was quickly fitted with a collar to follow his travels, and the city fell in love with him. P-22 would have been relocated or killed in any other region of the country, according to Pratt. He rose to prominence in Los Angeles. She had his visage tattooed on her arm and dubbed him "the Brad Pitt of mountain lions" because he was attractive, enigmatic, and unlucky in love (he never found a mate because he was cut off from his kind in the park).
(With Inputs From Agencies)
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