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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.

#goodnews #wildlife #cats #nature #animals #california #usa #losangeles #p22 #mountainlion #lockdown #homeschool #wildlifefilmmaker #books #authors #kids

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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!

#cats #books #authors #acknowledgement #authorsofinstagram #poisonfree #anticoagulants #pesticides #rodenticides #conservation #animals #kidsbooks #kidslit #authorlife #novels #writingtips #childrensbooks #children #hollywood #bigcats

“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

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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.

https://booksupnorth.com/kids-book-review-the-cat-that-changed-america/?fbclid=IwAR19cBRSNqhg6XxoFuOHuZkDgkxoNP9ZkwjJ9EGAqj4pqPjCvR-66cK6OuY

Keywords: cats, conservation, bigcats, wildlife, animals, motorways, pumas, cougars, books, kidslit, literature, young adult, schooling, homeschool

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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.

#books #canyonchronicle #topanga #cats #wildlife #conservation #bigcats #california #readers #topangachronicle #malibu #bookreader #endangered #lockdown #youngadult #kidslit #novels #stories #reading

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There’s another mountain lion in town looking for celebrity and he’s a beauty. Meet P-95, a one and a half year old male and the tenth mountain lion to be currently tagged and tracked.

Unfortunately there isn’t enough space to go around in the Santa Monica Mountains which is why the building of a wildlife crossing over the 101 is essential.

The plight of Mountain Lions is imaginatively told in a new book called “The Cat That Changed America”

which is based on the film now available through Video on Demand:

#lockdown #bigcats #california #mountainlions #nature #extinct #rare #thecatthatchangedamerica #books #caring #shelter #crossing #cats

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There’s some good news to start the first month of 2021 despite the worldwide gloom.

The three California Mountain lion cubs who lost their homes and were orphaned by last years wild fires have settled into their new home at Columbus Zoo.

The three cubs name Goldie, Captain Cal and Poppy met Jessie a mostly blind mountain lion and resident of Columbus Zoo. Jessie seems very interested in the cubs and is behaving in a maternal manner towards them.

Goldie has proved to be the boldest and has approached Jessie to play with her. Her sister Poppy is never far behind and will follow Goldie as they explore their new home. But Captain Cal is being wary and taking his time to get to know Jessie. Heart warming during these times.

#oaklandzoo #oaklandzoo #columbuszoo #wildlife #nature #lockdown #cheer #newyear

The Cat That Changed America features in Kelly’s Classroom Online. With fun and educational activities for children, this is a great way to get them involved in conservation and find out about the challenges facing not only mountain lion’s but all wildlife. Habitat loss, lack of connectivity and poisoning are just some of the issues facing animals in the wild.

https://www.kellysclassroomonline.com/2021/01/p22-mountain-lion.html

#homeschool #biology #nature #cats #shelterinplace #lockdown #hometeaching #school #conservation #teachathome #learningathome

Some good news to start 2021! The Cat That Changed America film is now available on Vimeo on Demand through the distributor Earth Touch.

The film which first premiered at the Santa Barbara Film Festival has been a popular favourite at other festivals such as Green Screen in LA, the New York Wildlife and Conservation Film Festival and the San Luis Obispo Film Festival. The story tells the incredible journey of P22 mountain lion from his birthplace in the Santa Monica Mountains to Griffith Park, crossing two major freeways along the way. It also tells the story of Los Angelenos and conservationists as they raise money to build a wildlife crossing over the 101 freeway. This is very timely as the crossing strikes ground this year.

#cats #cougars #documentary #wildlifefilm #wildlifefilmmaker #P22 #mountainlion #hollywood #conservation #books #movies #wildlifedoc

2020 has been a challenging year to say the least yet there have been incredible stories of hope, resilience and inspiration. One of the most inspiring animal stories is that of the 3 lion cubs which were rescued and found a new home.

The cubs have been recovering at the Oakland Zoo after being rescued from the flames. One of the lions was a weeks-old cub that was rescued from California’s Zogg Wildfire and was brought to the Oakland Zoo’s Veterinary Hospital for treatment and rehabilitation.

The male, nicknamed Captain Cal, had been severely burned and was found limping on a burned-out road in Redding, CA in September. It took 47 days for him to fully heal.

The Oakland Zoo shared a video showing the overnight journey to Ohio. The cubs boarded a FedEx aircraft at the Oakland International Airport.

“Captain Cal and the girls received top-notch service on their early morning journey from our Vet Hospital to Oakland International Airport, and on to Columbus Zoo and Aquarium by dinnertime,” the zoo wrote in a caption with the video.

The other two cubs were unnamed sisters. The sisters and Captain Cal were packaged up and sent to the Columbus Zoo.

The mountain lion cubs were recently transported by FedEx from Oakland Zoo in California to Ohio’s Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

The trio will be introduced to another mountain lion named Jessie who is 17 years old and who lives at the Columbus Zoo.

The three mountain lion cubs are such an inspiring story and illustrate the many challenges facing young animals which are detailed in “The Cat That Changed America” book which was written during lockdown and is available now.

#cats #mountainlion #cougars #2020 #lockdown #shelterinplace #lucky #animalstories #2020stories #endofyearreview #2020review

Book | The Cat That Changed America

P22 Mountain Lion features in this week’s Citizen Journal which covers news and entertainment in Ventura County. The write up profiles the new book “The Cat That Changed America” which is based on P22’s incredible true story crossing two freeways to reach Griffith Park in the middle of LA.

#cats #cougars #mountainlions #venturacounty #ventura #crossing #wildlifecrossing #lions #nature #animals #connectivity #santamonica #wildlife #bigcats #hollywood #losangeles #wildscreen #wildlifefilm

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Happy Christmas from The Cat That Changed America! This beautiful photo of a mother mountain lion and her three kittens brings cheer to us on Christmas. It shows how important it is to protect these beautiful cats which need large territories but are the victims of habit loss, lack of connectivity and fragmentation. The story of P22 is reimagined in a new book “The Cat That Changed America” and the challenges that these cats face. But there is hope as shown in this beautiful picture.

#cats #books #mountainlion #california #lockdown #animalbooks #kittens

#nature #love #animals #wildlife #californialockdown #stateparks

Happy Christmas Eve to all cat lovers, book lovers and nature lovers everywhere! May your Christmas Eve be full of joy, hope and happiness wrapping presents and respect for all nature’s wild things.

#cats #books #christmas #love #animals #laughter #nature #christmasbooks #authors #christmaspresents #gifts #kindle