Fischer & el Sani's film Cougar Coexistence tells the story of the effects of recurring wildfires, droughts, and floods from the perspective of a mountain lion in the Los Angeles area that has lost its habitat and seeks refuge in the gardens of luxury villas.
In the past years, many wild carnivores in Southern California have left their natural habitats, such as the Santa Monica Mountains. Threats to their survival include fragmentation from urban development, being struck and killed by a vehicle while crossing freeways that cut through their territories, suffering from the ingestion of rat poison and the consequences of man-made climate change such as severe flooding and devastating wildfires.
Recently, pumas have begun to venture deeper into L.A., wandering and staying in residential areas for longer periods of time to find new temporary habitats.
The film is inspired by a real-life nighttime encounter between a teenage girl, actually the filmmakers' daughter, and a cougar in the garden of the Villa Aurora artist residency in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles.
