It sounds like the plot of a Disney movie: a mountain lion prevented from finding a mate because he鈥檚 trapped by L.A. freeways becomes famous and inspires the construction of the world鈥檚 largest wildlife overpass.
But it really happened.
鈥淗e was surviving in a space much, much smaller than any male mountain lion ever had 鈥 eight square miles,鈥 explained Beth Pratt, the California Director of the National Wildlife Federation. 鈥淭he average male mountain lion territory is 150 miles.鈥
The cougar, named P-22, became a celebrity among Hollywood stars who would sometimes spot him as he roamed the neighbourhoods near Los Angeles鈥 Griffith Park.
鈥淎 mountain lion lived in L.A. and people didn鈥檛 fear him,鈥 said Pratt, who has memorialized P-22 on her arm with a tattoo. 鈥淭hey saw him as a neighbour; they鈥檇 be eating dinner and he鈥檇 walk by their dining room at night and they鈥檇 share a photo and be like: 鈥楬ey, P-22 visited me.鈥 鈥
One of her career highlights was getting an email from actor Alan Ruck 鈥 from HBO鈥檚 鈥淪uccession鈥 and Pratt鈥檚 favourite film, 鈥淔erris Bueller鈥檚 Day Off鈥 鈥 saying he spotted P-22 from the deck of his Hollywood Hills home.
Because of P-22鈥檚 popularity, people wanted to help the mountain lion 鈥 and others like him 鈥 roam the areas beyond Los Angeles鈥 bustling six-lane 101 Freeway. The idea of a wildlife overpass was garnering interest, but funding it was another issue.
So Pratt, who is most comfortable outdoors in casual clothes and hiking boots, found herself in swanky Bel Air mansions, pleading for endowments.
Donations poured in from celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio, Rainn Wilson, Barbra Streisand and David Crosby, and support also came from Watts residents in South Los Angeles.
Residents of Watts see P-22 as 鈥渁 social justice hero,鈥 Pratt explained.
鈥淗e鈥檚 someone who was also impacted by the injustice of putting freeways through communities,鈥 she said. 鈥淲hether you鈥檙e [living in] Beverly Hills, whether you鈥檙e [living in] Watts, we all come together over wildlife.鈥
Some 300,000 to 400,000 cars a day will pass underneath the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Overpass when it opens in two years.
The crossing includes specially designed sound walls, along with natural sound barriers of tall trees and lush plantings. Everything is designed to filter out the noise of the freeway, since most animals get frightened and turn around if it鈥檚 too noisy.
Engineers are also taking into account animals鈥 fear of bright lights.
鈥淎ll the lights of those headlights are a deterrent to wildlife,鈥 Pratt explained. 鈥淲e鈥檙e actually designing light barriers 鈥 not just on the crossing but in the approach 鈥 so they won鈥檛 get scared and turn around, which is what happens.鈥
The wildlife crossing is a public-private project, spearheaded by the National Wildlife Federation along with California鈥檚 transportation department. About half of the $100 million cost was funded by private donations, including $26 million from philanthropist Wallis Annenberg, whose contribution was instrumental in propelling the project forward.
For 20 years, the National Park Service researched the exact spot where the freeway overpass should go.
鈥淵ou couldn鈥檛 pay me a million bucks to run across that road,鈥 Pratt said. 鈥淭his freeway is so big and loud and noisy and too many lights 鈥 animals don鈥檛 even try.鈥
Wildlife crossings were first constructed in France in the 1950鈥檚. They鈥檙e in use across Europe, and are especially popular in the Netherlands.
Wildlife corridors have even worked with animals not considered particularly intelligent.
When vehicle hits were blamed for much of the decline in the koala population in Queensland, Australia, engineers created a series of tunnels and bridges to help them avoid busy roadways.
But Australian wildlife officials predicted koalas 鈥 notorious for chilling out in trees, stoned on eucalyptus 鈥 wouldn鈥檛 figure them out. So those same wildlife officials were pleasantly surprised when the koalas took less than three weeks to start regularly using them.
In Canada, a series of wildlife bridges and underpasses at Banff National Park has proven wildly successful. The wildlife corridors pass over and under the giant Trans-Canada Highway, which cuts the park in half.
Scores of big animals utilize the system, including grizzly bears, black bears, moose, elk and cougars. The system is credited with helping grizzlies sustain their population by providing access to mates on both sides of the park.
And that鈥檚 exactly what needs to happen at the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Overpass, where the freeway bisects the local cougar habitat.
One to two million big animals die on US roads every year from vehicle accidents, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Pratt says that number is 鈥渨ay under-counted鈥 since those are only the crashes that are actually reported.
鈥淎nd if you add in the little guys 鈥 frogs and butterflies 鈥 we鈥檙e talking in the billions,鈥 said Pratt.
She believes the crossings have widespread support: 鈥淣o matter what political affiliation you are, where you live, it doesn鈥檛 matter. Most people love wildlife and don鈥檛 like seeing it get hit.鈥
There are also economic benefits, according to Pratt, since they are infrastructure projects that come with jobs and have human safety benefits.
It鈥檚 an environmental problem with a simple, proven solution, Pratt says, and the only thing that stands in the way of building them is money.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no bad guy. We don鈥檛 have to figure out the technology. We just need the funding.鈥
Besides its massive scope, the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing is different from other wildlife overpass systems across the world in that it will host a whole ecosystem on top of it.
A nearby plant nursery is growing native, fire-resistant plants that will eventually cover the crossing.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been collecting seeds for years now to match the surrounding ecosystem, and that鈥檚 important with climate 鈥 both wildlife and plants need options,鈥 according to Pratt.
Invasive, fire-fuelling plants 鈥 including the ubiquitous black mustard plant 鈥 will be removed from the area. The nearby utility poles had to be moved to accommodate the crossing, so those will now be placed underground, which will also help with fire resistance.
鈥淣ot only are you going to have wildlife like mountain lions and bobcats crossing it, you鈥檙e going to have monarch butterflies laying their eggs on milkweed on top of it, you鈥檙e going to have western fence lizards living on top of it,鈥 Pratt said.
鈥淧art of this project is we are going to be restoring the landscape, not just on the crossing, but around it, back to what it should be. So that鈥檚 going to help with a lot of things, as well as fire risk.鈥
P-22 won鈥檛 be around to use the wildlife crossing that he helped inspire. In December 2022, just a few months after the National Wildlife Federation and California鈥檚 transportation department broke ground on the bridge, the cougar died.
Although his death was heart-breaking, Pratt said he actually lived a long life for a mountain lion.
鈥淏ut more than that, he used his celebrity for good. I call him the 鈥榰ltimate cougar celebrity influencer.鈥欌
His story, she said, ensured a future for other mountain lions in the region.
鈥淎nd we owe him a debt of gratitude. He has inspired the building of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing. We would not have it without him.鈥
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