Famed P-22 Mountain Lion Spotted In Silver Lake

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – After nearly a decade roaming through Griffith Park, Hollywood's most famous mountain lion appears to have moved into a new neighborhood.

A mountain lion was spotted meandering through Silver Lake by several people at around 7 p.m. Tuesday. Resident Christina Felice got cell phone video of the mountain lion in the area of Berkeley and Redesdale avenues.

"My 6-year-old was excited and she wanted to see it, so I took a little video," Christina Felice said. "Did not get out of the car. She was really excited that we saw it in our neighborhood."

Wildlife officials have been tracking P-22 since 2012, when he made the 50-mile trek across both the 101 and the 405 freeways to go from the Santa Monica Mountains to Griffith Park. The National Park Service confirmed to CBSLA Wednesday that the mountain lion is indeed P-22.

"I do find it really scary, especially because we do have a little dog, and we walk her late at night," James Francis told CBSLA. "I wouldn't personally know what to do if we saw a mountain lion. I wouldn't be able to take it on."

The mountain lion did not seem to be aggressive.

"We drove down a little bit, it was right on the corner here, and it was just chilling in someone's driveway," Felice said.

In September of last year, security cameras captured footage of P-22 roaming the streets of a Hollywood Hills neighborhood. Griffith Park officials said that P-22 sometimes wanders into more urban areas.

"They don't have as much of a natural habitat anymore, so it does make me sad that they're coming into neighborhoods that they don't need to be in," "They shouldn't have to come here to find food."