There’s now a P-22 library card. L.A. Public Library does a limited-edition run

Los Angeles’ beloved and departed mountain lion is getting a library card.

The Los Angeles Public Library announced this week that it would offer its patrons a limited-edition library card to honor P-22, the city’s famous cougar who prowled Griffith Park for more than a decade before dying in December.

The card features the famous photo by Steve Winter of National Geographic of the cougar wandering the park with the Hollywood sign in the background.

With the special card, the library also hopes to “feature the importance of natural spaces and biodiversity of wildlife in our shared habitat,” according to its website.

California

P-22, L.A. celebrity mountain lion, euthanized due to severe injuries

The mountain lion P-22, who lived in the heart of Los Angeles for more than a decade and became the face of an international campaign to save Southern California’s threatened pumas, was euthanized Saturday.

Dec. 17, 2022

The special-edition card is available at all L.A. Public Library locations while supplies last.

P-22, who became the face of an international campaign to save Southern California’s threatened pumas, was euthanized Dec. 17 because of several long-term health concerns and injuries that probably stemmed from being hit by a car.

The cougar was captured and evaluated before his death after he began to exhibit increasing signs of distress, including several attacks on dogs and close encounters with people walking in Los Feliz and Silver Lake.

The wild cat was severely underweight and had a skull fracture, an eye injury, herniated organs and a torn diaphragm, a doctor said. They also discovered he had heart, kidney and liver disease, a thinning coat and a parasitic infection.

At a memorial service at the Greek Theatre earlier this month, thousands of people and dozens of speakers — including scientists, advocates, politicians and celebrities — showed up to pay tribute to P-22.

“You will be remembered as the king of Griffith Park,” said the DJ and music producer Diplo. “The world has lost a magnificent creature, and the humans of Los Angeles have lost their chance to catch a glimpse of you in the wild.”

“He made us more human, made us connect more to that wild place in ourselves,” said Beth Pratt, a regional executive director for the National Wildlife Federation and the organizer of the event. “We are part of nature, and he reminded us of that.”

Times staff writers Laura J. Nelson and James Queally contributed to this report.