The mountain lion was caught within the Tesla’s headlights. Vladimir Polumiskov moved each shortly and slowly, not wanting to attract undesirable consideration.
He put his 2-year-old son again within the automobile seat and bought behind the wheel and quietly closed the door. His spouse, Anastasiia Prokopenko, was within the passenger seat; she couldn’t imagine what they have been seeing.
“No way. No way,” she mentioned. “Get in the car. Get in the car.”
The household, simply again from a sushi dinner on Tuesday evening, had pulled right into a parking area at their condo complicated off Barham Boulevard within the Hollywood Hills. Dwelling on the western fringe of Griffith Park, they have 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 ft 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 brilliant lights. Polumiskov, 30, reached for his telephone and began capturing video.
“This guy was huge,” 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 residence on this island wilderness could give many Angelenos a way of déjà vu yet again.
The mountain-lion king of Griffith Park — a cat generally known as P-22 — roamed these hills for 10 years. Captured in December 2022, he was euthanized after a crew of medical doctors decided that due to inner 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 means of the identical car parking zone earlier than working off. “I had the same reaction then,” he mentioned. “That doesn’t change. It was shocking.”
“Los Angeles misses P-22,” mentioned Beth Pratt of the Nationwide Wildlife Federation, maybe his most ardent champion.
In February 2023, Pratt helped arrange on the Greek Theatre a sold-out celebration of his unbelievable 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 heart 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 heart good,” she mentioned . “It felt like P-22 had sent someone back to us — just to keep the hope alive that we hadn’t entirely banished the wildness in our lives.”
The Nationwide Park Service, which has reviewed Polumiskov’s video, is taking the declare severely, in line 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 could 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 heart, but there is something almost mystical about this,” mentioned Pratt, referring to the coincidental risk that the 2 cats in Griffith Park would share so related a quantity.
Park Service researchers are conducting interviews and brushing by means of footage from wildlife cameras positioned all through Griffith Park.
“We obviously want to make sure we confirm this is the real thing,” Cholo mentioned. “Hopefully we’ll get that in the near future.”
However hope apart, she added, there is no such thing as a assure that the mountain lion will stick round. Pumas want as much as 200 sq. miles of habitat, and Griffith Park affords somewhat greater than eight.
After capturing the video, Polumiskov put the Tesla in reverse and located one other parking area far-off from the mountain lion. Two hours later, he returned with a pal, and the cat was nonetheless there.
“He was still sitting in that tree, looking at us,” he mentioned. “He is a beautiful, beautiful animal, young and healthy, perhaps the biggest 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 following day, he bought 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 protected.
“He definitely educated me,” Polumiskov mentioned.
“While it is exciting to see a wild animal,” mentioned Cholo, “if you see a mountain lion, give it space. Don’t follow it. As tempting as it might be, this is a big cat and its behavior can 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 reside within the Santa Monica Mountains, and they’re in danger for extinction due to low genetic variety.
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 vital lifeline for the endangered species. When accomplished in 2026, it will likely be the biggest — 200 ft lengthy and 165 ft large — and costliest bridge of its sort on the earth.
“The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing is critical” for the survival of the species, Pratt mentioned . “But Griffith Park also needs safe routes for its wildlife trying to navigate the city.”
