81VIDEO COURTESY AP
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Post-It notes paying tribute to the famed mountain lion known as P-22 cover an exhibit wall at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 20. The popular puma gained fame as P-22 and shone a spotlight on the troubled population of California's endangered mountain lions and their decreasing genetic diversity. But it's the big cat's death — and whether to return his remains to ancestral tribal lands where he spent his life — that could posthumously give his story new life.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A girl looks at a photo of the famed mountain lion known as P-22 as the exhibit wall is covered with Post-It notes paying tribute to the big cat at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 20.
MIGUEL ORDENANA VIA AP
This Jan. 2020, photo provided by Miguel Ordeñana shows a mountain lion known as P-22, photographed in Los Angeles.
MIGUEL ORDENANA VIA AP
This Aug. 2017, photo provided by Miguel Ordeñana shows a mountain lion known as P-22, photographed in Los Angeles.
MIGUEL ORDENANA VIA AP
This May. 2020, photo provided by Miguel Ordeñana shows a mountain lion known as P-22, photographed in Los Angeles.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A mural by artist Corie Mattie depicting the famed mountain lion known as P-22 is seen in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Feb. 1.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Two people walk past a mural by artist Corie Mattie depicting the famed mountain lion known as P-22 in Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 20.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A mural depicting the famed mountain lion known as P-22 is reflected in a car window in Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 20.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Visitors look at merchandize celebrating the life of the famed mountain lion known as P-22 at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 20.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Biologist Miguel Ordeñana sits for a photo after an interview with The Associated Press at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 20.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Alan Salazar, a tribal member of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, sits for a photo after an interview with The Associated Press in Thousand Oaks, Calif., Wednesday, Feb. 1.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Alan Salazar, a tribal member of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, looks at a taxidermy of a mountain lion at a museum in Thousand Oaks, Calif., Wednesday, Feb. 1. In tribal communities here, mountain lions are regarded as relatives and considered teachers, according to Salazar.
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