The mountain lion was caught within the Tesla’s headlights. Vladimir Polumiskov moved each rapidly and slowly, not wanting to attract undesirable consideration.
He put his 2-year-old son again within the automotive seat and acquired behind the wheel and quietly closed the door. His spouse, Anastasiia Prokopenko, was within the passenger seat; she couldn’t imagine what they had been seeing.
“No approach. No approach,” she mentioned. “Get within the automotive. Get within the automotive.”
The household, simply again from a sushi dinner on Tuesday evening, had pulled right into a parking house at their condo advanced off Barham Boulevard within the Hollywood Hills. Dwelling on the western fringe of Griffith Park, they had been accustomed to seeing wildlife — coyotes, bobcats, deer, foxes — wandering into their yard. However a mountain lion was excessive.
“We’re not getting out,” Prokopenko mentioned.
Lower than 13 toes away, the cat was sitting on the low-angled trunk of an oak tree, partly hidden by weeds, his blond coat set off by the intense lights. Polumiskov, 30, reached for his telephone and began capturing video.
“This man was large,” he mentioned.
Although the sighting has not been confirmed by the Nationwide Park Service, which oversees the Santa Monica Mountains Nationwide Recreation Space and has additionally studied wildlife within the 4,000 acres of Griffith Park, the potential of a mountain lion making its dwelling on this island wilderness might give many Angelenos a way of déjà vu another time.
The mountain-lion king of Griffith Park — a cat often called P-22 — roamed these hills for 10 years. Captured in December 2022, he was euthanized after a staff of docs decided that due to inside accidents and an infection, he was too sick to return to the wild.
A number of months earlier than, Polumiskov mentioned he had seen P-22 skulking by the identical parking zone earlier than operating off. “I had the identical response then,” he mentioned. “That doesn’t change. It was surprising.”
“Los Angeles misses P-22,” mentioned Beth Pratt of the Nationwide Wildlife Federation, maybe his most ardent champion.
In February 2023, Pratt helped manage on the Greek Theatre a sold-out celebration of his inconceivable life in Griffith Park, drawing greater than 6,000 individuals desirous to pay their respects to the charismatic cat who, surrounded by growth, freeways and cemeteries, lived peaceably within the middle of Los Angeles.
Seven months later, the eighth annual official P-22 Day competition drew 15,000 attendees.
When Pratt first heard of this new sighting, she felt barely overcome.
“It does my coronary heart good,” she mentioned . “It felt like P-22 had despatched somebody again to us — simply to maintain the hope alive that we hadn’t completely banished the wildness in our lives.”
The Nationwide Park Service, which has reviewed Polumiskov’s video, is taking the declare critically, in keeping with spokesperson Ana Beatriz Cholo.
The park service has been learning the mountain lion inhabitants within the Santa Monica Mountains since 2002, when it collared its first cougar, which was given the identify P-1 (P is for puma). Since then, it has tracked and collared 121 of the animals all through the park.
If collared, the massive cat in final week’s video can be P-122.
Video of a mountain lion noticed on Tuesday close to Barnham Boulevard in Toluca Hills, new Hollywood. (Vladmir Polumisko)
“I’m a scientist at coronary heart, however there’s something nearly mystical about this,” mentioned Pratt, referring to the coincidental chance that the 2 cats in Griffith Park would share so related a quantity.
Park Service researchers are conducting interviews and brushing by footage from wildlife cameras positioned all through Griffith Park.
“We clearly wish to make sure that we affirm that is the true factor,” Cholo mentioned. “Hopefully we’ll get that within the close to future.”
However hope apart, she added, there isn’t a assure that the mountain lion will stick round. Pumas want as much as 200 sq. miles of habitat, and Griffith Park gives a little bit greater than eight.
After capturing the video, Polumiskov put the Tesla in reverse and located one other parking house far-off from the mountain lion. Two hours later, he returned with a good friend, and the cat was nonetheless there.
“He was nonetheless sitting in that tree, taking a look at us,” he mentioned. “He’s a wonderful, lovely animal, younger and wholesome, maybe the largest mountain lion I’ve seen in my life.”
4 months earlier, Polumiskov had seen — whereas driving — what he believed was additionally a mountain lion. However with out proof, his household and pals doubted him. Now he had one thing extra tangible.
The subsequent day, he acquired a name from Jeff Sikich, a wildlife biologist and mountain lion specialist with the park service, who requested him just a few easy questions — the place and when — and reminded him to play it secure.
“He positively educated me,” Polumiskov mentioned.
“Whereas it’s thrilling to see a wild animal,” mentioned Cholo, “for those who see a mountain lion, give it house. Don’t comply with it. As tempting because it could be, it is a huge cat and its conduct could be unpredictable.”
The full variety of mountain lions in California is estimated to be between 3,200 and 4,500. A few dozen of the cats are mentioned to dwell within the Santa Monica Mountains, and they’re in danger for extinction due to low genetic range.
The present building of a wildlife hall over a 10-lane stretch of the 101 Freeway at Liberty Canyon in Agoura Hills guarantees to be a important lifeline for the endangered species. When accomplished in 2026, it is going to be the most important — 200 toes lengthy and 165 toes large — and most costly bridge of its variety on the planet.
“The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing is important” for the survival of the species, Pratt mentioned . “However Griffith Park additionally wants secure routes for its wildlife making an attempt to navigate town.”
