Living with Lions Webinar: The Story of P-22 and Building the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing
May 15, 2024 @ 12:00PM — 1:00PM Pacific Time (US & Canada)
The world famous mountain lion, P-22, inspired the world to consider a new ethic of wildlife coexistence, even in our most populated areas. He also served as the poster-cat for the devastating impacts our roadways have on animals, and his plight galvanized millions around the globe to support the building of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing. Join conservation leader and author of When Mountain Lions Are Neighbors, Beth Pratt, to learn the story of P-22 and the wildlife crossing, and how P-22’s legacy has continued even after his death.
Image of P-22 in Los Angeles by Steve Winter for National Geographic.
About the Presenter
A lifelong advocate for wildlife, Beth Pratt has worked in environmental leadership roles for over thirty years, and in two of the country’s largest national parks: Yosemite and Yellowstone. As the California Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation, Pratt leads the #SaveLACougars campaign to build the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, which broke ground on Earth Day in 2022. The largest wildlife crossing of its kind in the world, it will help save a population of mountain lions from extinction. Her innovative conservation work has been featured by The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, BBC World Service, CNN, CBS This Morning, the Los Angeles Times, Men’s Journal, The Guardian, NPR, AP News, and more.
Her books include When Mountain Lions are Neighbors, published by Heyday in 2024, and I Heart Wildlife: A Guided Activity Journal for Connecting With the Wild World, by Di Angelo Publications in 2020. Her new book, Yosemite Wildlife: The Wonder of Animal Life in California’s Sierra Nevada, will be published by the Yosemite Conservancy in 2025. Beth has also given a TEDx talk about coexisting with wildlife called, “How a Lonely Cougar in Los Angeles Inspired the World,” is featured in the documentary, “The Cat that Changed America,” on CNN’s Heroes in Conservation series, and the new reboot of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.
Beth obtained a BS/BA from the University of Massachusetts, an MBA from Regis University, earned the LEED AP credential, and trained with Vice President Al Gore as part of his Climate Reality Leadership Corps. In 2007, she traveled to Japan as part of a month-long Rotary International Professional Exchange to study business and national park operations. Beth also served as a founding board member and the board chair for the nonprofit Outdoor Afro for eight years. The Western Section of the Wildlife Society named her “Conservationist of the Year” in 2023, and in 2024, she received the Alan Rabinowitz Conservation award from the Explorers Club.
Beth spends much of her time in Los Angeles, but makes her home outside of Yosemite, “my north star,” with her six dogs, two cats, and the mountain lions, bears, foxes, frogs, and other wildlife that frequent her backyard. More information at www.bethpratt.com or www.101wildlifecrossing.org