P-22 Memorial Service: Where To Watch

LOS ANGELES, CA — Angelenos will celebrate the late beloved mountain lion P-22 on Saturday with a sold-out memorial on a legendary Los Angeles stage and viewing parties scheduled across the greater Los Angeles area.

At 12 p.m. Saturday, thousands will shuffle into the Greek Theatre for an afternoon of music, art and words of reflection on the puma's bold life and trek from the Santa Monica Mountains to Griffith Park. The celebration of life will also be livestreamed, with watch parties planned at a number of local libraries and community areas.

Agoura Hills will host a viewing party at 12 p.m. Saturday at 3001 Ladyface Ct, and the following libraries will livestream the memorial: Palisades, Lakeview, Memorial, Pacoima, Central, Cypress Park, Granada Hills, John Muir, Westwood, Pico Pico and R.L. Stevenson.

P-22 was euthanized on Dec. 17, 2022, after developing a number of health issues and being hit by a car. He rose to fame being the only mountain lion known to successfully complete the dangerous trek across the 405 San Diego (405) and Hollywood (101) freeways. He lived much of his life in Griffith Park, delighting locals with sightings for years.

P-22 was part of the National Park Service's puma study, which has tagged and tracked over 100 mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains starting in 2002. Though many of the pumas have become locally beloved, P-22 rose to national fame over the years, even appearing in well-known magazines like National Geographic Magazine.

"He changed us. He changed the way we look at LA," said Beth Pratt, California Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Foundation, after P-22's death. "He made us more human, made us connect more to that wild place in ourselves. We are part of nature and he reminded us of that. P-22's journey to and life in Griffith Park was a miracle."

Three U.S. lawmakers, including Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), sent a letter Friday to a federal committee on U.S. postage stamps formally suggesting a P-22 stamp, the Los Angeles Times reported. Schiff recommended the famed picture of P-22 standing on a mountain with the Hollywood sign in the background, especially considering the Hollywood sign turns 100 this year, according to the Los Angeles Times.

"P-22 was many things: a celebrity neighbor, the occasional troublemaker, and a beloved mascot for our city. He reminded us of the beauty of the wilderness around us," Schiff said in a tweet.