Dispute arises over what to do with P-22’s remains

Even in death, a mountain lion known as the P-22 is caught between two worlds.

For many Angelenos, he was a celebrity and a symbol of a wild, fast-fading California. But for centuries, Native American tribes called mountain lions teachers and considered them to be their relatives.

Now that the P-22 has been discarded by wildlife authorities, it’s unclear what will become of the remains of the famous mountain lion. As government agencies and museum officials consider the cat’s final resting place, the Southern California Native American community wants P-22 to be buried near Griffith Park in a ceremony honoring his spirit.

Originally from the Santa Monica Mountains, the P-22 gained worldwide fame after being photographed in front of the Hollywood Sign and lived in Griffith Park on the Gabrieleno/Tongva ancestral land.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History is trying to secure the P-22’s body from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Although the matter was previously considered, museum officials said Thursday that they do not plan to embalm the P-22’s body or display his remains, which have been a major concern of the Native American community.

But it’s still not clear what the future holds for the big cats.

The researchers were already in the process of collecting samples and performing necropsies—a type of animal dissection—on the P-22 when they learned of the Native American communities’ concerns. This process has been suspended while…