Los Feliz and Griffith Park - Home to Puma P-22

Did you know that Los Angeles has 390 public parks and 15, 710 acres of parkland? One of the area’s most popular and well known parks is Griffith Park, which, at over 4,000 acres, is the nation’s largest urban municipal park. By comparison, New York City’s Central Park is only 843 acres in size.

While Griffith Park gets 10 million visitors annually, who like to play golf and tennis, attend concerts at the Greek Theater, or hike its many trails, there is one particular park “visitor” that has captured L.A.’s attention: “P-22.”

P-22 is a puma, or mountain lion, who somehow wandered over to Griffith Park from the Santa Monica Mountains, and now calls the park home. He had to get across the busy 101 and 405 freeways to get to Griffith Park.

Don’t worry—you probably won’t see P-22 in person if you visit. Some wildlife researchers have seen him, but then again they were on the hunt to find him. As the 22nd mountain lion that Santa Monica Mountains National Park Service biologists have found, he got the name Puma 22, or P-22.

P-22 has become somewhat of a cult celebrity in L.A., with his own Twitter account(s) of all things!

At night, P-22 eats mule deer, raccoon and coyote to stay alive. During the day, he rests among dense vegetation, elusive to park guests. So far, he’s happily at home in Griffith Park. As the only mountain lion in the park, he has no competition for food.

How do people know P-22 really exists? A remote camera set up for a wildlife survey caught the puma’s face in 2012. Later that year, scientists set a humane trap with cameras to be able to see the lion in person. After the lion received a sedative from a blow dart, scientists attached a collar that would allow them to track the whereabouts of P-22. That’s how scientists know specifically what P-22 eats—researchers are able to track the animal and go to places where he killed his prey.

P-22 is a relatively young mountain lion, and it’s most likely he’ll leave the park and head east to the Santa Monica Mountains to find a mate when he gets older.

October is a Great Time to Visit the Old Zoo in Griffith Park

Thousands of people visit Los Angeles’ Griffith Park to see the view from atop the mountain at the world-famous Griffith Observatory. While that’s a tourist magnet, Griffith Park also has something locals and tourists should see: The Old Zoo.

It’s not every day you get to see—and walk through—an abandoned zoo. It’s a small zoo full of empty cages and caves covered in graffiti, and many people like to bring their cameras and take pictures.

To find The Old Zoo, start off at the Carousel parking lots. Walk toward the grassy field and hills, where you’ll see a path. It’s an easy 15-minute walk up the path to the zoo.

The first things you’ll see upon entering the zoo area are large stone enclosures featured in the bear battle scenes of the movie Anchorman. Then, you can peek inside and look for a narrow, crumbling staircase behind a door. See where it leads, if you dare. Visitors have described wandering around the abandoned zoo as both cool and creepy. You can sneak through holes in fences to explore dim, dirty cages and caves.

It’s best to wear closed-toe shoes or boots to explore the ruins, rather than flip-flops. Also, don’t wear fancy clothes because there’s a chance you’ll get some dirt on whatever you’re wearing.

The Old Zoo has some picnic tables in front of the stone enclosures, and an adjacent field is home to Shakespeare in the Park, taking place at dusk during the summer months.

While the area is often visited by people, be on the lookout for snakes and/or coyotes if you visit The Old Zoo—it is, after all, surrounded by nature and wildlife.

The soft and sweet heart of Los Feliz

Did you notice the volunteers that were cleaning the Hoover Steps in June? They worked on a public garden as well.

In July, the Council Day of Service was to work on the planters in front of King Middle School. The Friends of King brought the snacks and food and EnrichLA brought tools and plants. Now, the middle-schoolers will be greeted with planters filled with beautiful flowers and greenery.

The Los Feliz Neighborhood Council (LFNC) has begun getting volunteers together once a month to make Los Feliz a better.

On the third Saturday of every month, volunteers gather at that month’s work site to improve Los Feliz. There are already cleanups scheduled for the entire year and every month will be different, so there’s no way to get bored. The next Council Service Day will August 17th.  Anyone who would like to volunteer can email communications@losfeliznc.org. Check out the website at www.losfeliznc.org.

I have to tell that this is one the reasons I love Los Feliz. The community works together to make this neighborhood better and better every day.

Photos are from the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council website. Thanks for all you do.