Renaissance men

"Associate with people who are likely to improve you" - Seneca

There is an undeniable bond shared between those who are innately fascinated with natural history. The drive to explore the natural world around us and to better understand our connection with nature transcends virtually every classification by which we categorize ourselves. This is especially true with herpetology, the red-headed stepchild among the more "esteemed" biological disciplines. If you've been stricken with a healthy obsession with amphibians and reptiles, you'll soon find out that the pool of compatible cohorts is regrettably small.

But, as the adage goes, "quality over quantity". I've been enormously privileged to know a handful of local people that are at least as passionate as I am about herpetology. I can best describe these people as "renaissance men" as they convey a classical approach to natural history without eschewing modern techniques. Curiosity runs through their veins, and it's refreshingly contagious.

Tom Anton is one of these guys. He first popped up on my radar while I was wrapping up high school in the late 90's. He had just authored an inventory of the amphibians and reptiles of Cook County, which I found fascinating at the time (as I do nearly a quarter century later). A bit of irony - I was in the school library being taught how to use InfoTrac, a subscription-based database available on CD-ROM (before we could find all of this stuff on the internet). I performed poorly all throughout high school, and barely made my way through, but finding Tom's document and printing it out to bring home gave me a reason to be enthused. But I digress.

Fast forward to 2013 when I finally wrapped up my long, fragmented, and oftentimes arduous college career. I wanted to learn more and write about the Chicago region's herps, and Tom's name was the very first that came to mind. I sent Tom an email and asked some questions that by today's standards sounded really dumb. He invited me to the Field Museum of Natural History, where he worked. At the museum, he led me through the herp collections, the library, and the lab (where I got to see but unfortunately not meet the late, great Bob Inger). Then, after leading me to the food court, we sat down and he opened up for questions. I hoped that he would see that I was a serious student of natural history and not just some guy with a passing interest. And I think he did because over the course of the next year he didn't avoid my emails.

We finally got into the field a year later in November of 2014. We had talked a bit about the southern two-lined salamander in Will and Kankakee Counties and he agreed to meet down there. But first he wanted to rendezvous at Wilmington House restaurant, a place where "all the herpetologists meet in the area". Was I in the club?

We spent a few hours looking for and finding salamanders, which was cool, but mainly, I really hoped that the experience was the beginning of a process of trust building. I knew Tom was a valuable asset. What I didn't expect then was how much of a friend he'd become.

Today, over ten years and many adventures later, I know him only as a friend who happens to be a herpetologist. While I am twenty years his junior, we share many perspectives. We are both kind of stoic; we tend to focus on things that are within our control and not so much on extraneous nonsense. Life is better that way for us at least. His enthusiasm toward fieldwork is unsurpassed. You'd think he never caught a plains garter snake when he catches a plains garter snake even though he has probably found more plains garter snakes than anyone in the history of northeastern Illinois. He carries a beat up notebook in which he jots down all pertinent field data as it relates to herps, and he's known to pull his car over from time to time in rural areas to unfold a large paper map of Illinois. Tom's willingness to allow me to join him in the field and his timely support have been transformative. His recommendation to always "herp with purpose" resonates with me to this day.

Tom and me with a pygmy rattlesnake, ANF, Florida, March 2023.  Photo by Nathan Kutok

As I became more comfortable networking within the herpetological sphere, I began meeting other locals interested in the subject. While I maintain relationships with just about all of them to this day, a few really stand out. Matt Ignoffo is one of those guys. I'm not sure exactly how I came to know of him - it was either through his participation in an outing documented by someone else on the field herp forum website or through his Flickr account. Either way, his photos are what drew me in and made me super envious. It was clear that Matt had an outstanding eye for herp photography. His field guide-style of photography produced stunning images. His familiarity with the local herps, fishes, and mussels was unsurpassed. A few photos really stood out. One was of a mussel in a dire situation - receding waters in a local stream exposed the mussel to the atmosphere and it really captured the plight of mussels everywhere. Another photo featured his then young son just as a large fox snake was biting his face. Simply perfect timing.

Photo by Matt Ignoffo

Photo by Matt Ignoffo

I noticed that Matt shared a fair number of queen snake photos. After he accepted my friend request on Facebook in 2014, I began asking him about queen snakes. He had some really great shots and at that time I was really struggling to find them in the area (there are at least a couple of related posts on this blog). I sent him messages hoping he might lead me directly to a good queen snake locale. He didn't do that. Instead, he provided me with a summary of the species' range in northeastern Illinois, complete with watersheds. I like to think he was challenging me - to do the work he did when he first sought the queen snake. After way too much time searching for the queen snake, I found one and felt this great rush of dopamine I wouldn't have felt had someone simply told me where to go. And I thought that was pretty badass of him. I think he knew exactly what he was doing.

Matt and I first met in person during the early spring of 2015.  We agreed to meet to find salamanders in the Palos region of Cook County.  I was a bit star struck.  He brought his two young children and together we hiked to some marshes where we flipped some logs.  At one point, as we hiked from one marsh to another, a spring peeper jumped from some place unknown right into Matt's hand.  He joked that he always lucked out, but as far as I was concerned, it wasn't luck but instead the work of some herpetological deity bestowing Matt a unique form of herp magnetism.

Matt showing his children the spring peeper that jumped into his hand.  April, 2015

In all seriousness, Matt is an excellent herper but beyond that probably the best and most well-rounded naturalist I've ever met.  You might not get that impression if you met him and that's because he is very modest.  But his obsession with needing to know the answer to a question is akin to that of history's most regarded natural historians.  His focus is admirable.  In his quest to better understand something, he will not rest until he is satisfied.  It's a blessing and a curse.  

Matt looking for spring peepers in an urban marsh.  April, 2023

Similar to the duality of Batman and Bruce Wayne, there are two sides to Matt - there is a very gentle and deliberate and empathetic aspect most often witnessed as he carefully moves a turtle from the road, or brings himself to the level of children to share the wonders of a salamander, or re-positions a log to the exact position it was before it was turned.  But, under the same circumstances, he won't hesitate to criticize rules put in place to limit or restrict access to natural areas.   He is a true vigilante in the best way possible.  I'm not going to go into details, but I'll assert that Matt's passion and knowledge wasn't born from staying on the paved path.  Professional land managers and biologists could gain a lot of wisdom from Matt - wisdom that wasn't accrued using statistics and modeling, just good old fashioned common sense and boots-on-the-ground experience.

Matt doing the Robot with a young Graham's crayfish snake.  July, 2022

I wanted to use "boots on the ground" as a segue to introduce the third and final individual I wanted to cover today, but "sandals on the ground" might be a more accurate idiom.  That's because in the seven-ish years I've known him, Nathan Kutok has almost never sported a pair of boots or really any footwear suited for the kind of field activities he does.  It's a bit of a running joke, but it's in good spirit.  

I've never known anyone like Nathan before.  He truly embodies the term "renaissance man" out of his passion for herpetology and for his body of work amassed at such a young age.  At sixteen years old, he had more book smarts and enthusiasm than many twice or even three times his age.  In early 2016, he sent me a private message on Facebook asking if I were aware of any herpetologically-oriented volunteer opportunities in the area.  I suggested the Calling Frog Survey, but something told me that wasn't going to be enough.  His online activities leading up to that message indicated that he was not willing to settle for casual "citizen science".  He sought complete immersion into a project and he wanted to work closely with professionals.

Nathan with Ken Mierzwa, July 2021

Nathan, Tom, me.  February, 2022

I first met Nathan in person during the spring of 2018.  We would initially meet up in Lake or McHenry Counties - more or less his neck of the woods.  He struck me as a soft-spoken introvert with a vocabulary beyond his years (that's still the case, by the way).  One particularly memorable outing took place near my home in West Chicago.  We were walking a set of railroad tracks when a railroad security truck spotted us and hastily advanced toward us.  Nathan and I reacted by making a mad dash straight into an otherwise impenetrable thicket of buckthorn to escape persecution.  Once we were satisfied that we had outrun our nemesis, we caught our breaths and collected ourselves.  Nathan seemed unfazed by the incident and continued on as if nothing had happened.  There wasn't much if anything that was going to stop this guy.  I liked that.

Matt and Nathan on the day Matt and I first met Nathan.  May 2018

Nathan became serious about contributing to the body of herpetological knowledge and wanted to incorporate the queen snake into those plans.  Together, with the help of another exceptional local (-turned-migrant) Tristan Schramer, we compiled a ton of information about the biogeography of the queen snake along the middle Fox River drainage in McHenry, Kane, and Kendall Counties (we also looped in data provided by Matt).  Ultimately this turned into a poster for a symposium.  We also published a paper on the rediscovery of the Graham's crayfish snake in DuPage County following a gap of twenty five years.  To this day we collaborate on various projects or projects we wish we could tackle if we had a lot more hours in a day and days in a week.

Make no mistake, I am no scholar nor do I pretend to be one.  I do have a lot of friends in academic circles and I love and cherish them all, but at the end of the day I am at BEST an avocational enthusiast.  Nathan on the other hand IS a bona fide herpetological made man. He has built connections throughout the field and has been generous enough to bring me into the fold many times, which I very much deeply appreciate.  The experiences I've had as a result of accepting Nathan's invitations, the people I've met, the knowledge I've gained, are immeasurable.  The long, late night phone calls Nathan is known for pull me out of the daily grind for awhile and we just talk about our hopes and ambitions as they relate to herpetology.  On a road trip, the guy can talk herpetology for hours without coming up for air.  I don't know anyone else this invested in what they love.

Nathan and Matt, June 2023

Maybe most importantly, these three guys have really good senses of humor.  As a man of science, I find that humor is sorely lacking among the ranks.  At least, the kind of absurd, left-field humor that I live by.  I often get the side eye reaction from others, if they haven't already walked off and written me off as a lunatic.  No, Tom, Matt, and Nathan have largely accepted my condition and they are occasionally known to reciprocate much to my pleasure.  

Whether we believe it or not, we are ALL the products of where are from and those we associate with.  While we cannot choose family, we can choose our friends and I'm fortunate to know people that stimulate curiosity and enthusiasm.  We are not alone in this world.  No matter what you're into, there are others that can and will decorate your life with unforgettable experiences and camaraderie.  I've just been lucky.

Matt and Nathan, June 2023