Tracking the Mountain Lion That Ate a Chihuahua

America’s most famous mountain lion lives—as so many celebrities do—in the hills above Los Angeles. For more than a decade, P-22 (P for puma, 22 because he’s the 22nd tagged in a local study) has prowled the mountains bordering the city, occasionally dipping into more populated areas. Like any bona fide star, his movements are meticulously monitored, by both the park and the public. He wears a radio collar and is sometimes captured on local home-security cameras.

Last week, the big cat appears to have been caught on camera snatching up a pet Chihuahua being walked by a dog walker in the Hollywood Hills. Despite the National Geographic spread and comparisons to Brad Pitt, P-22 is very much still a wild animal, one that happens to have captured the imagination of the sprawling city he calls home.

I spoke with Jeff Sikich, a wildlife biologist who monitors the lion’s whereabouts, to discuss tracking the famous cat and its contemporaries, as well as the issues that mountain lions face in urban environments. (When pressed to tell me which local lion was his favorite, Sikich declined to name one, saying only that P-22 was “up there.” He spoke much more tenderly about a female named P-19.)

Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Caroline Mimbs Nyce: So tell me: How long have you been tracking P-22 personally?

I’m a wildlife biologist with the National Park Service at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. And I’ve been here for 20 years, working on our long-term mountain-lion study. I manage all the