RIP P-22

[scoobdog]

One of the few Hollywood celebrities that everyone loved, he will be missed.

https://apple.news/Ars_tE2ZmTTCj3wnT1qcF7Q

[André Toulon]

What.

Oh, it's a puma.

Well, I have jokes for this but I'll just forego that

[NewBluntsworth]

Sounds like LA's pampered pet pig population gets to sleep even more soundly tonight. 

[scoobdog]

10 hours ago, André Toulon said:

What.

Oh, it's a puma.

Well, I have jokes for this but I'll just forego that

I mean I’m a huge animal lover so it affects me anyway, but the level of public mourning for a wild animal is unusual to say the least.  He even had his own Twitter account.

I’m not really sure how to process this kind of outpouring.  Is it latent guilt about how Angelenos have destroyed native habitats over the past century?  I’m sure that’s a big part of it.  But seeing people cry as if he were their personal pet cat makes me think that there’s more to it.  It’s really a strange phenomenon.

[katt_goddess]

I had a pet cougar growing up. Very gentle, hung out with cats, dogs, horses. She went into the wild permanently around 2 years old, started a family and to this day there are still sightings of cougar in the area but no attacks on people or pets. 

So I can understand why they are sad about this. It was a member of the community.

[scoobdog]

20 minutes ago, katt_goddess said:

I had a pet cougar growing up. Very gentle, hung out with cats, dogs, horses. She went into the wild permanently around 2 years old, started a family and to this day there are still sightings of cougar in the area but no attacks on people or pets. 

So I can understand why they are sad about this. It was a member of the community.

That is certainly a unique experience.  Cougars aren’t the killing machines you would expect from an apex predator in part because they’re not particularly large, but schools still go into lockdown when they’re out and about.  Most people don’t have the opportunity to encounter a cougar up close to get the kind of community connection.

[Poofy]

I remember hearing about P-22 way back when I lived in Santa Barbara still. He was on the news.

and I have no other puma comments 

[katt_goddess]

1 hour ago, scoobdog said:

That is certainly a unique experience.  Cougars aren’t the killing machines you would expect from an apex predator in part because they’re not particularly large, but schools still go into lockdown when they’re out and about.  Most people don’t have the opportunity to encounter a cougar up close to get the kind of community connection.

Locking down is a safety measure since they can go after small things that look like food and run away. Won't lie about that. They are small but pure muscle and can knock someone over easily if they want to. My experience was she was treated like all the other cats, never caged, and never abused so that she never ended up needing to react in an aggressive manner towards those things that might be considered food or a threat. I still miss her. 

Negative side of the friendly cougar coin - while helping out at an animal sanctuary [ mostly wolves which I would pet even though supposedly they were wild ] back in the 90's, their newest addition was a cougar that someone had decided they wanted to have as a pet. Unfortunately, those assholes were able to find a vet somewhere that was more than willing to declaw -and- de-canine the little thing to make it more 'house friendly'.  She could never be released in the wild and even re-housing in a wild cat sanctuary with other cougars was unlikely because she couldn't defend herself. All she wanted was to have her ears scritched while chirping. 

Found a couple of the pics from that time as proof.

Feeding time in the wolf pack. And yes, I was that close to them.

 

Poor cougar. It's hard to see but her paws and mouth are 'floppy' from the removal of her claws and fangs.