Home security cameras captured this impressive feline slinking through a Greentree Road backyard early in the morning on Jan. 14. The cat wandered the property before heading north.
Santa Monica Mountains Park Ranger Kate Kuykendall confirmed that the kitty in question is a mountain lion, likely “P-12,” a male whose tracking collar stopped functioning a few years ago.
P-12 was dubbed “New King of the Mountain” after making a southern journey to Liberty Canyon in 2009 and producing what scientists call a “genetic rescue,” bestowing a new set of genetics upon the at least eight litters of kittens he has fathered south of the 101 Freeway.
The Santa Monica Mountains’ small but stable population of more than 50 mountain lions face long-term survival concerns due to loss and fragmentation of their habitat.
—MATTHEW MEYER
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