The mountain lion photo that helped change Los Angeles

Photographer Steve Winter spent more than a year trying to photograph a mountain lion in front of the Hollywood sign, an idea National Park Service biologist Jeff Sikich initially dismissed since no mountain lions were known to be in Griffith Park. Remote cameras were stolen and equipment failed before Winter finally captured P-22 walking beneath the sign at night, tracking collar visible. The image made the cat internationally famous and became a rallying symbol for wildlife hemmed in by roads and development.

P-22's fame helped drive the campaign for the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing over U.S. Route 101, meant to reconnect habitat split by one of the region's busiest freeways. The story appears in Winter and journalist Sharon Guynup's new book Big Cats, which also covers their investigation of Thailand's Tiger Temple, later raided by authorities over trafficking links, and a vaccination program Winter helped start for livestock owners near snow leopard habitat in the Himalayas.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.