16 Jun 2023
P-22, a 12-year-old cougar, was a regular sight in iconic locations including the Griffith Observatory, Mulholland Drive and the Hollywood Sign, but was humanely euthanised last December.
Vet Times
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P-22 after his capture in December 2022. Image: © National Park Service, US
A mountain lion regularly spotted venturing in to Los Angeles had multiple injuries and chronic conditions, and had been exposed to five rodenticides, final postmortem results have revealed.
The 12-year-old cougar, known as P-22, was a Tinsel Town celebrity in its own right, with sightings regularly reported in iconic locations including the Griffith Observatory, Hollywood Sign and Mulholland Drive.
He was captured and anaesthetised by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and the National Park Service (NPS), having lost weight and appearing to have suffered a vehicle strike.
After a fuller evaluation, humane euthanasia was carried out, and postmortem and lab test results have now been released.
In a press release, the NPS said: “The results confirmed that P-22 had been suffering from multiple severe injuries and chronic conditions that impaired his ability to function in the wild, and would have lowered his quality of life if placed in human care.”
Pathologists at San Diego Zoo carried out the postmortem, which revealed fresh and older injuries, and confirmed he was underweight, arthritic, and had progressive and incurable kidney disease. He was also suffering a severe parasitic skin infection, caused by demodectic mange infection and concurrent systemic ringworm.
Toxicology tests carried out by the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory (CAHFS) at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) School of Veterinary Medicine showed P-22 had been exposed to five anticoagulant rodenticide (AR) compounds, but no evidence was found of AR poisoning.
A separate study from the CDFW – which tested 247 mountain lions at the CAHFS lab at University of California, Davis – found 96% had been exposed to one or more ARs. At least seven AR-related mountain lion deaths have been reported in southern California in the past 19 years.
