The city of Los Angeles will memorialize its most famous cougar with a bronze sculpture in Griffith Park, a 4,200-acre (1,700-hectare) stretch of land where a cougar once roamed.
The lion, known as “P-22” – the number assigned to him by the team of biologists who first identified him – gained national fame after photographer Steve Winter captured an iconic photo of him wandering through Griffith Park with the words “Hollywood” in the background.
The sculpture, created by Los Angeles artist Adam Matano, will be installed at the park’s visitor center, according to the National Wildlife Federation, which supported the project through the Safe LA Cougars campaign.
The sculpture depicts a muscular P-22 stepping from one perch decorated with images of animals native to southern California to a second perch decorated with reproductions of native flora.
Matano tried to capture “the idea of wilderness infiltrating Los Angeles and awakening the city to the nature already within it,” he said in a statement. He sought to turn P-22 “into a king, not because he dominated the territory, but rather because he lived according to his nature and captured the heart of the city.”
The project was paid for by private charity.
The GPS-collared lion has attracted a loyal following in Los Angeles, where his activities have often been the subject of local news coverage.
Likely born in the Santa Monica Mountains, the P-22 had to cross about 10 lanes of traffic on Los Angeles’ famously clogged freeways to find its home in Griffith Park.
This feat is the driving force behind the Wallis-Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, which is scheduled to open in December. It would be the world’s largest wildlife crossing and promises to improve genetic diversity in the Santa Monica Mountains, where cougars show signs of inbreeding.
Wildlife officials euthanized P-22 in December 2022 after he attacked a dog on a leash and began showing signs of deterioration, likely caused by a collision with a vehicle. They estimated his age to be 12 years old.