Capture of beloved P-22 mountain lion emblematic of growing problem

For more than a decade, California’s most famous mountain lion lived peacefully with his human neighbors in Los Angeles.

P-22’s territory included the Hollywood sign, the region’s most popular hiking trails and some of its ritziest homes.

He became the city’s unofficial mascot in 2013 when a National Geographic photographer captured a now-famous image of him at night, prowling a trail with the Hollywood sign behind him. After that, a fan created a Facebook page that drew 20,000 followers, artists painted murals of him on city walls, and he was the subject of several books. Every October there’s an annual P-22 festival.