Los Angeles

P-22 “Has Left the Building”: Game Wardens

Technicians spotted the cougar while trying to install equipment at a Los Feliz home Monday.

Los Angeles' most famous mountain lion, P-22, has "left the building," game wardens said Tuesday of the big cat who was found in a crawl space of a Southern California home the day before.

Technicians, who were trying to install security equipment at a Los Feliz home Monday, were startled to discover the big cat hiding underneath it. 

P-22 hunkered down and hid in the small space as officials tried to figure out how to lure him back into the mountains. Now he's on a new adventure, on the move again and back in Griffith Park where he made his home three years ago after crossing two freeways from the Santa Monica Mountains. 

"It's got to be at least 150 pounds!" Jason Archinaco said, looking at the big cat lodged in the small space of his home.

"(The technician) came face-to-face with it, and he was horrified, and who can blame him? My husband said he came running through the house white-faced," Archinaco's wife Paula said.

Game wardens from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed that a GPS tracking system on the mountain lion showed that he had returned to Griffith Park.

The home in the 2700 block of Glendower Avenue is close to the park.

P-22 was treated for poisoning and mange last year but appeared OK after treatment.

He was also featured in a National Geographic article titled "A Cougar Ready for His Closeup" in 2013. The article houses one of P-22's most famous photos in front of the Hollywood sign.

He is arguably the most famous mountain lion in Southern California.

Residents of the area said they didn't mind sharing living space with P-22.

"I'm in Hollywood. A mountain lion is the least threatening thing here," said one man.

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