P-22, the mountain lion that turned Griffith Park into L.A.'s unofficial wildlife sanctuary, is about to make a permanent comeback in bronze. A life-size memorial of the famed cat is taking shape in a Los Angeles studio and is expected to be installed near the park's Visitor Center by the end of the year. The clay study shows P-22 stepping from a human-made pillar onto a patch of natural ground so visitors can come almost nose to nose with the cat they once knew from camera-trap images and community events.
As reported by SFGATE, local sculptor Adam Matano was selected to create the memorial and has been shaping a large clay maquette in his Lincoln Heights studio. He says he wants the piece to capture P-22's calm intensity while also nodding to a bigger story, how wild animals thread their way through the maze of Los Angeles streets, freeways, and concrete.
Partners and backers
Friends of Griffith Park partnered with the National Wildlife Federation’s #SaveLACougars campaign and the city's Department of Recreation and Parks to commission the sculpture, according to Friends of Griffith Park. In the group's announcement, Councilmember Nithya Raman saluted P-22 as "our dearly departed King," a reminder of just how much civic pride ended up riding on one solitary cat.
Design and scale
According to SFGATE, the finished bronze will tip the scales at about 2,000 pounds and present P-22 at roughly life-size, with his face set close to eye level for park visitors. Matano's concept shows the cougar stepping off a carved pillar onto a scrap of natural ground. The pillar itself will be etched with local imagery, including possums, coyotes, the Griffith Observatory, highways, the Los Angeles River, and the downtown skyline.
Artist's process
To get P-22 right down to the whiskers, Matano studied the lion's actual measurements with wildlife biologist Miguel Ordeñana and combed through camera-trap photos and anatomical charts, according to the Natural History Museum. The clay maquette will be cast in bronze before it heads to Griffith Park. Matano has said he hopes the finished work encourages visitors to come up with their own reading of P-22 and what it means to share a city with wild predators.
P-22's legacy
P-22 became an international symbol of urban wildlife after a widely shared 2013 camera-trap portrait and nearly a decade spent living in Griffith Park. He was euthanized in December 2022 after suffering injuries and chronic illness, and a private tribal burial followed, as reported by the AP. The now-iconic photograph by Steve Winter for National Geographic, showing the cat framed against the Hollywood sign, helped turn P-22 into a conservation touchstone and inspired memorials and projects across Southern California.
Timeline and next steps
Friends of Griffith Park says nonprofit partners and individual donations will cover the cost of the memorial, according to the group's announcement. On the city side, a work order for the sculpture's installation in Griffith Park includes preparing a concrete foundation and anchoring the piece, as outlined in the Department of Recreation and Parks' Park Fee report. Organizers say they are aiming to have the bronze in place by the end of 2026, once fabrication and fundraising are fully wrapped.
