Can there be a Hollywood ending for the 'Brad Pitt of mountain lions'?

Penned in by freeways, LA's big cats face extinction - but a new wildlife crossing might be the answer

The lingering stench from putrefying deer carcasses is so powerful in Richie King's pickup truck that his neighbours once reported him to the police. The suspicious plastic boxes behind our seats are empty today, he promises, chuckling, as we drive into California's Sierra Azul mountains.

But we are both hoping the smell of fermenting roadkill proves irresistible for an elusive predator in these hills: mountain lions.