… 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. … Park Irwin flew out to Los Angeles on a scouting trip in summer 2006, Hahn said, and pledged to come back in the spring with his camera crew. Only weeks later, Irwin was killed by a short-tail stingray. As chaos reigned at the lake, an anonymous …