Subscribe
HIKE LOS ANGELES
  • Home
  • Destinations
    • Griffith Park >
      • Mt. Hollywood
      • The Lonesome Pine
      • Bee Rock
      • Griffith Park Trail Run
      • Amir's Garden
      • Royce's Canyon
      • Hollywood Sign
      • Cahuenga Peak Hike
    • Santa Monica Mountains >
      • Escondido Canyon Hike
      • Inspiration Point Hike
      • Sandstone Peak Hike
      • The Grotto Hike
      • Calabasas Peak Hike
      • Paramount Ranch Hike
      • Fanklin Canyon Lake Loop Hike
    • San Gabriel Mtns./Angeles National Forest >
      • Sturtevant Falls Hike
      • Eaton Canyon Hike
      • Mt. Baldy Loop Hike
      • Echo Mountain Hike
      • Trail Canyon Waterfall Hike
      • Monrovia Canyon Waterfall Hike
      • San Gabriel Peak/Mt. Disappointment Hike
      • Mount Lowe Hike
      • Switzer Falls Hike
    • Verdugo Mountains >
      • Verdugo Peak
      • Mt. Thom Hike
      • Verdugo Sunset Hike
      • Cross of San Ysidro Sunrise Hike
    • Santa Susanna Mountains >
      • Oat Mountain Hike
      • Rocky Peak Hike
      • Don Mullally Trail Hike
      • Towsley View Loop Trail
  • Specialty Hikes
    • Sunrise/Sunset Hikes
    • Waterfall Hikes
    • Historic Hikes
    • Hollywood Sign
    • The 5 Peaks
  • Resources
  • Blog

   SLATE MAGAZINE'S
   BEST SWIMMING
   HOLES IN LA

       With summer approaching, now is the time to plan
       your visits to some of LA's best swimming holes with
​       Michael Juliano's list of best spots to beat the summer
       heat.

Los Angeles Swimming Holes

P-32 Struck and Killed on the 5

8/17/2015

1 Comment

 
We are sad to report the death of P-32, the mountain lion that crossed the 101 Freeway earlier this year. He was struck and killed by a motorist as he attempted to cross Interstate 5 near Castaic Lake in the early morning hours of Monday, August 10. P-32 and his sister P-33 made headlines in April when both cats made separate crossings of the 101. Big cats in the Santa Monica Mountains are hemmed in by highways and it makes it difficult for the animals to breed within a healthy gene pool. Because he was a juvenile, it is believed that P-32 was pushing further north to find a mate away from larger, more aggressive males. He had managed to cross not only the 101, but the 23, the 118 and the 126 highways before meeting his fate on the 5 in the Los Padres Mountains. The only other male puma to make it successfully out of the Santa Monica Mountains is P-22 who currently resides in Griffith Park after traversing both the 405 and 101 highways. P-22, however, is not considered a successful transfer by a Santa Monica puma as he is also hemmed in by highways with no female to mate with. For more information on this story, check out this article from KPCC's Sanden Totten.
P-32: Mountain lion who crossed the 101 killed crossing I-5
1 Comment

Puma 22 Develops Mange

5/10/2014

1 Comment

 
PicturePuma 22, one mangey cat
Puma 22 was captured recently after backcountry remote cameras snapped photos of the big cat that appeared to show the animal was suffering from the skin disease mange. Wildlife biologists confirmed P-22 had contracted the disease and his blood showed traces of toxins linked to rat poison. The cat appeared somewhat scraggly and was reportedly 10 pounds lighter than his last capture. While the effects of mange on mountain lions is not widely known, local bobcat populations that contract the disease can see their survival rate drop from 75% to around 30%. The biologists gave P-22 a large dose of selacmectin, a topical parasiteacide used to kill mites, fleas and ticks on domestic pets. The large cat was also given injections of Vitamin K to help combat the effects of the rat poison toxins. Though researches are concerned about P-22, his nocturnal behavior still seems to be normal and active. The cat has traveled throughout the park, ranging from Glendale Peak in the east to Cahuenga Peak in the west, preferring the hilly areas to the flatlands. His roaming has taken him out of the park as well. P-22 was recently caught on security cameras on Hollyridge Drive in the Hollywood Hills. View footage here.

1 Comment

Mountain Lions in the Verdugo Mountains and Griffth Park

1/31/2014

1 Comment

 
One of the pleasures of hiking in a wilderness area is getting to see nature in action.  But when an area of urban sprawl like Los Angeles butts up against those wilderness area, nature sometimes comes to you.  And in a couple of recent incidents in Burbank, that nature comes with sharp claws and long teeth.  In the early morning hours of January 3, a mountain lion was spotted in the 1000 block of Hamline Place.  A local resident was alerted to big cat’s presence by his dogs.  When the man went to see what the ruckus was about the animal leapt over a fence and disappeared.  Later that night, a mountain lion was caught on a surveillance camera just a short distance to the north in Sun Valley, where a family's Boxer went missing. Both of these incidents followed another sighting from the week before in Glendale where a mountain lion, or puma, was seen dragging an 85-lb Labrador Retriever over a 3 ½ foot wall.  More recently, another sighting of a mountain lion occurred on January 29 near the 3000 block of Wedgewood Lane in Burbank.  While it is possible there could be more than on big cat on the prowl, all three sightings are well within the territorial range of a single cat, and the odds of multiple pumas crossing the 210 Freeway from the San Gabriel Mountains to the Verdugo Mountains at the same time are slim.  Still, a single mountain lion can cause panic in those not accustomed to seeing such large predators hanging out in their backyards.

Experts, however, say the animals pose little threat to humans, preferring to hunt smaller prey like raccoons or coyotes and, heartbreakingly for some, dogs and house cats.  Since 1890, there have only been 16 verified attacks on humans by mountain lions, six of which were fatal. 

Mountain Lion Safety Tips from
The California Department of
Fish and Game

 Do not feed deer; it is illegal in California and it will attract mountain lions. 
 Trim brush to reduce hiding places for mountain lions. 
 Do not allow pets outside when mountain lions are most active-dawn, dusk, and at night. 
 Bring pet food inside to avoid attracting raccoons, opossums, and other potential mountain lion prey. 
 Do not leave small children or pets outside unattended. 
 Install motion-sensitive lighting around the house. 
 Do not hike, bike, or jog alone. 
 Avoid hiking or jogging when mountain lions are most active-dawn, dusk, and at night. 
 Do not approach a mountain lion 
 If you encounter a mountain lion, do not run; instead, face the animal, make noise and try to look bigger by waving your arms; throw rocks or other objects. Pick up small children. 
 If attacked, fight back. 
 If a mountain lion attacks a person, immediately call 911. 

For additional information, please contact the Burbank Animal Shelter at 818-238-3340.

PicturePuma 22 in Griffith Park
As proof of their wariness of humans, biologists point to Griffith Park’s resident cougar, P-22, short for Puma 22. P-22, a young male mountain lion, entered the park in February of 2012 and has been living quietly on the north slopes above the Forest Lawn Cemetery and the Travel Town train museum.  While he has been photographed on National Park Service remote cameras, and more recently by National Geographic photographer Steve Winter, P-22 has remained elusive to the thousands of park visitors who tramp daily over his territory.  What makes his story so intriguing is not just that a mountain lion has taken up residence in an urban park within eyesight of Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles, but that he made it there to begin with.  DNA testing have shown that P-22 comes from the stock of cats residing in the Santa Monica Mountains and had to cross both the 405 and 101 highways to reach Griffith Park.

While there seems to be little risk to humans, authorities urge park visitors and local residents to take precautions to prevent antagonizing the cats or making them feel threatened.  The California Department of Fish and Game has prepared a list of safety tips (see side bar) to help mitigate attracting a mountain lion’s attention and what to do should one encounter a mountain lion in the wild, even if the wild comes to your backyard.

For more information on P-22 in Griffith Park, read this article from the Los Angeles Times:

Scientists Track Cougar's Wild Nightlife Above Hollywood

1 Comment

    Hike Los Angeles

    Dedicated to discovering the wilderness beyond the pool area.

    Archives

    April 2017
    May 2016
    August 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    October 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    Categories

    All
    Angeles National Forest
    Eaton Canyon
    Franklin Canyon
    Full Moon Hikes
    General Hiking
    Griffith Park
    Hike-LosAngeles.com
    History
    Los Angeles Hiking
    Mountian Lions
    Nike Missile Base
    Peak Bagging
    Puma 22
    San Gabriel Mountains
    Santa Monica Mountains
    Santa Susanna Mountains
    Stough Canyon
    Sturtevant Falls
    Verdugo Mountains

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.