… City, a haven for birds and native plants. But in the summer of 2005, the lake was a polluted watering hole, encircled with overgrown vegetation and teeming with frogs, birds and carp. , the zoo's reptile curator: canny, omnivorous, adept at snatching food and avoiding predators. … for the Los Angeles Times. Her writing on science and human behavior has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, Time Magazine, the BBC, Quartz and elsewhere. Before joining The Times, she worked as the senior London correspondent for …