Cougar Crossing

February 15, 2021
Grades K-3 After every inch of California's Santa Monica Mountains had been claimed by other males, a two-year-old cougar (aka mountain lion or puma) walked past Beverly Hills mansions and crossed 20 lanes of Los Angeles traffic to find his own spot in the city. This informational picture book recounts how he was tagged as P-22 in a puma study as he continued to live among humans and other urban wildlife and gain notoriety as the "Hollywood cougar." Numerous large-scale scenes with animation-style illustrations provide the backdrop for the short, descriptive text. In the corners, readers will find two real-life wildlife biologists who offer more commentary on how P-22 inspired the building of a wildlife crossing (a land bridge for animals) in the area. Although the book's subtitle suggests the crossing is complete, a concluding time line of L.A.'s mountain lions shows 2021 as the projected breaking-ground date. Other features include cougar and wildlife-crossing facts and a pictograph of Southern California wildlife. Pair with Katy S. Duffield's Crossings (2020) for another look at the concept.

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