On February 25th, 2016, Friends of Griffith Park presented National Park Service Biologist Jeff Sikich at the Griffith Park Ranger Auditorium discussing ongoing preservation efforts of mountain lion populations in the Los Angeles Region. As Jeff noted, there are a number of issues facing Puma concolor or mountain lions including: urbanization, shrinking habitats, vehicle-related deaths, rodenticide usage, and a lack of genetic diversity.

The National Park Service has studied mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains region over the last dozen years, employing radio-collars or radio-implants, doing genetic profiles on over 45 individual mountain lions. Jeff managed most of the work along with project director biologist Seth Riley. P-22 was initially captured by Jeff and sports a radio collar. He has been re-captured by Jeff several times since his journey into Griffith Park from the Santa Monica Mountains over four years ago. P-22 was recaptured several times for collar battery replacements and in 2014 was discovered to be deathly ill from apparent rodenticide poisoning. Jeff and his crew treated P-22 in situ, and he was re-released.

This video relates the story of mountain lion populations in the Santa Monica Mountains as well as their prospects going toward the future. The video also profiles P-22 eking out his life in Griffith Park.

Jeff Sikich is a graduate of Indiana University with a degree in Environmental Science and Management. Throughout his career Jeff has captured and handled over 16 carnivore species for wildlife research. His work specializes in safe capture and handling techniques for various large carnivores. He has worked on several projects in the United States researching a variety of species, as well as studies focused on tigers in Sumatra, jaguars and pumas in Central and South America, and leopards in South Africa. Jeff is currently a biologist with the National Park Service researching the impacts of urbanization and habitat fragmentation on mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountain Range.