Have you wondered how biologists have been able to capture photographs of animals like P22 at night? Through the use of night vision, infrared and animal camera traps you can successfully capture those elusive creatures. In this podcast, Tony Lee the film maker of The Cat That Changed America about P22 mountain lion describes the ways that
Happy Easter weekend! To celebrate the start of a long Easter holiday, we have two chances to win a copy of the book The Cat That Changed America about a true life story of an incredible big cat, P22, who made a journey in search of a new home.
The book is reviewed in Yeah Lifestyle with a chance to win the book, and also features in the Solve it for Kids podcast. Happy Easter #easter #easter2021 #competition #giveway #eastereggs #prizes #books #win #authors #kids #homelearning #learning #lockdown #solveitforkids #ohyeahlifestyle #lifestyle #travel #winners #ukprizes
Graphic representation of the new wildlife crossing at Liberty Canyon over the 101
A recent article in the Thousand Oaks Acorn, close to the site of the proposed wildlife crossing over the 101 at Liberty Canyon, suggests to “Move (mountain) lions, don’t build bridge”. It goes on to cite that the cost of the bridge, estimated at $88 million, would be put to better use feeding homeless and hungry kids in LA. It also proposes to move mountain lions as a cheaper and quicker solution to the problem that these endangered cats face in the wild.
It’s a common enough cited argument, but the reality of moving lions just doesn’t work. Moving a mountain lion into another area will probably mean moving it into another male’s territory – and these big cats will fight to the death over territory.
To hear the arguments further and the reasons for building the wildlife crossing, you can now watch The Cat That Changed America on Vimeo on Demand.
At the Animals and Books science learning division of Barnes and Noble at The Grove
The Cat That Changed America in P22’s home town of Los Angeles! Read the true life story of this remarkable mountain lion who crossed two freeways to reach Griffith Park in the middle of LA which he made his home. The Barnes and Noble bookstore at the Grove has a great Animals and Books section along with a Science and Nature learning centre packed full of great books for kids.
You can order a copy of the book through your local Barnes and Noble or through this link:
There’s a great new article on the background of the Wildlife Crossing over the 101 with new interviews by Beth Pratt who is spearheading the Save LA Cougars campaign to build the crossing and Miguel Ordenana the wildlife biologist who discovered P22 in Griffith Park through one of his camera traps.
It’s World Book Day today! Celebrate by ordering and curling up with a good book in paperback or kindle. The Cat That Changed America is based on the true life story of P22 mountain lion and his incredible journey crossing two freeways to reach Griffith Park. We all have a favourite book which influenced us as children and inform the adults we are today. Our favourites were The Incredible Journey, Danny The Champion of the World, The Animals of Farthing Wood and The Velveteen Rabbit. What are yours?
Tomorrow March 1st is the first day of Spring in the Meterological Calendar. Celebrate the beginning of a new season and the end of winter by getting back to nature after lockdown.
Looking for local ideas or books to read with your kids? The Cat That Changed America features in this week’s Reading With Your Kids podcast. Everything from discovering animals in your backyard to tips for photographing wildlife. We cover the amazing story of P22 mountain lion and his incredible journey to Griffith Park.
P22 mountain lion has recently been caught by wildlife biologists for a routine check and to change his radio collar battery early this month February 2020.
His vital statistics weighed in at 123 pounds and he is in healthy condition. At 11 years old, he’s become one of the oldest mountain lions who has been tracked in the nearly two-decade-long study.
“For an old Cat, P22 still got it going” says the Santa Monica National Park Area.
P22 made an incredible journey from his birthplace in the Santa Monica Mountains, crossing two freeways the 405 and the 101, before settling in Griffith Park. He’s been living in the park since February 2012 at least, where he was photographed on a camera trap by wildlife biologist Miguel Ordenana.
Through genetic testing, biologists were able to trace P22 to his birth place in the Santa Monica Mountains and even find out who is father is.
Since then, he has been tracked with a GPS radio collar by the National Park Service wildlife biologists led by Jeff Sikich who has been monitoring the mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains area. P22’s father was called P1, the first Puma caught for the study and lived to at least 12 years old. The oldest female mountain lion in the study is P-19 who celebrated giving birth to her fifth litter of kittens last year. Mountain lions typically live from 12 to 14 years in the wild, so P22 is an old cat now but a healthy one.
“That’s an amazing feat unmatched by any other mountain lion (as far as we know),” says the Santa Monica Mountains post.
Mountain lions typically need very large territories, about 150 square miles of home range for hunting. But P22’s range in Griffith Park is only 9 square miles, though he has a ready supply of mule deer in the park, unfortunately he is trapped by freeways and will never find a mate.
P-22 is also one of the oldest mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains study and may he enjoy many more years. You can find out more about P22 by watching “The Cat That Changed America” which is available on Vimeo on Demand. And an imaginative retelling of his journey to Griffith Park is told in a book to accompany the film.
This beautiful medal of P22 mountain lion in his home of Hollywood and Griffith Park was awarded to us by Poison Free Malibu who are campaigning against anticoagulant rodenticides and the devastating effects they have on wildlife. As writers, our passion is tell stories, tell emotional truths, engage and entertain. We write because we want to reach out to our fellow humans and share our world and everything that is important to us. But sometimes its very satisfying to be acknowledged and rewarded for our work. Thank you for reading!
“My favourite part of the story was when he has to cross the busy roads to get to the new park.” – 7 Year old reviewer of The Cat That Changed America
Book Review
My favourite part of the story was when he has to cross the busy roads to get to the new park.
I really enjoyed reading this book because it is an exciting true story.
It is about a mountain like called P22 who has to leave his mother’s territory as he is now a grown lion. He goes on a long journey from the Santa Monica mountains and through Hollywood to find a park that he can make his home.
This is really scary for animals as the roads are so fast and dangerous. He made a incredible journey that was over 60 miles long, in the end he is happy in his new home.
The true life story of P22 mountain lion is given an imaginative twist for readers as we follow his journey from his birth place in the Santa Monica Mountains to Griffith Park, while crossing two freeways along the way. The book is available to order through your local bookstore, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.
