San Diego

Only 1 Lion Remains Missing in Santa Monica Mountains Following Woolsey Fire

The only mountain lion still missing is dubbed P-74, a young male that was born last year and is the newest lion added to the National Park Service study of big cats in the mountains.

All but one of the mountain lions being tracked by the National Park Service in the Santa Monica Mountains have been accounted for in the wake of the Woolsey Fire, as have all four bobcats the agency monitors, officials said Friday.

The only mountain lion still missing is dubbed P-74, a young male that was born last year and is the newest lion added to the National Park Service study of big cats in the mountains. Another lion dubbed P-42 was located Friday morning, along with the last of four bobcats in the mountain area.

Park officials confirmed Thursday that they had located P-22, arguably the most famous of the lions in the study. P-22 is famous for his camera appearances in Griffith Park and for successfully crossing the San Diego (405) and Ventura (101) freeways. P-22's location was verified Wednesday night by a fuzzy picture in Griffith Park.

Concern for the cats escalated this week with news that roughly 88 percent of National Park Service land in the area was burned by the Woolsey Fire.

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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