Jeff Manes: Valpo man immersed in reptiles, amphibians

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Alan Resetar, 57, of Valparaiso works in the division of amphibians and reptiles at The Field Museum in Chicago. Resetar is pictured with George, an Eastern box turtle he bought almost 45 years ago. | Photo provided

Updated: January 5, 2012 8:06AM

“Never try to catch two frogs with one hand.”

— Chinese proverb

Alan Resetar is acting divisional manager and collection manager, division of amphibians and reptiles, at The Field Museum in Chicago.

Resetar lives in Valparaiso with his wife, Donna. Other members of the household include a cat, an African plated lizard, a beagle and a rottweiler-Lab mix named Gary who was a junkyard dog found in Gary.

Resetar also owns an Eastern box turtle, George, he bought from Ernie’s Pet Shop in Gary almost 45 years ago.

Resetar, 57, has degrees in zoology from Purdue University Calumet in Hammond and information sciences from the University of Wisconsin — Milwaukee.

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Lived in Valparaiso all your life?

“No, I grew up in Hammond and graduated from Gavit High School.”

What ethnicity is Resetar?

“Slovak; my dad is from Whiting. Some of my first amphibian and reptile expeditions took place in Whiting with my cousin, Joe Stahura, who is now the mayor of Whiting.”

Childhood memories of Hammond?

“The turtle races they used to have downtown. My sister, Elizabeth, and I went once and I gave her a large Blandings turtle I had found. She actually won the race. The Blandings turtle is now a state-endangered species in Indiana.”

Sounds like your interest in amphibians and reptiles started at an early age.

“I first got interested in creatures watching ‘Garfield Goose’ (on WGN, Ch. 9) when they’d show these five-minute segments called ‘Journey to the Beginning of Time.’ ”

I used to love “Journey to the Beginning of Time;” every segment had a different title, like: “Part XVII: The Mastodon’s Tusk.”

“Once I discovered modern amphibians and reptiles, I completely forgot about dinosaurs.”

You’ve studied or surveyed the habitats of the Grand Calumet and Little Calumet rivers.

“The water of the Grand Calumet River is fairly clean; it’s the sediments where you have issues. There are 14 (beneficial-use impairments); the Grand Cal is the only body of water that has all 14. But there are places where there are actual presettlement natural habitat going right up to the Grand Cal.”

Mother Nature can be a resilient old dame, if she’s given a fighting chance.

“Believe it or not, there are frogs, turtles and water snakes in the Grand Cal, and some interesting fish species, too.”

I bet.

“The Grand Cal does have a distinct odor that’s not natural.”

I bet.

“We were doing some surveys in the Grand Cal, using dip nets, and I went a little too deep into the sediment with the net. When I brought up the net, it smelled like fuel oil, yet, there was a beaver swimming about 30 feet from me.”

Tell me about The Field Museum.

“The museum has 22 million objects within it; less than 1 percent of those are on exhibit. Even if you go there and spend all day looking at things, you’re only scratching the surface.”

A typical day at work?

“My job is taking care of and providing access to 290,000 specimens of preserved amphibians and reptiles.”

In what are specimens contained?

“Anything up to 5-gallon jars to stainless-steel tanks filled with everything from tiny cricket frogs that were collected at Wolf Lake during the early 1900s to Komodo dragons.”

Field work?

“Locally, I do. I haven’t done any foreign field work since I went to Libya in 1981. A lot of my day is spent corresponding with people from all over the world through email. People can borrow our specimens just like checking out a book at a library.”

Are the specimens kept in formaldehyde?

“They are preserved with formaldehyde, but stored in ethanol. We use a technique that was developed in the mid-17th century, when people realized they could take a freshly killed animal, slit it open, put it in strong wine and arrest the decay.”

A favorite amphibian or reptile?

“Oh, gosh, I like them all, from the biggest snake to the tiniest tadpole. We have 50 different species of amphibians and reptiles in Northwest Indiana, which is a tremendous amount for a small area.

“This is an area where the eastern deciduous forests meet the western prairies, so there are different amphibians and reptiles found from each major habitat.”

Alan, when I was a kid growing up on the Kankakee Sands of northern Newton County, I recall catching 5-foot-long blue racers and trying to catch these little green lizards with blue tails, but they were too fast.

“You’re probably referring to the six-lined racerunner. You wouldn’t find that lizard or a snake like the blue racer in, say, East Chicago.”

Serpent trivia?

“As an embryo, the snake’s eyelids actually fuse together clear. So, in a sense, a snake’s eyes are always closed, but always open. Snakes do not have internal ear openings; lizards do.”

Do you ever come across a species that hadn’t previously existed in Lake County or Porter County?

“Yes, we’re still finding new county records, even though herpetologists have been studying this area for at least 120 years.”

As a whole, how are amphibians and reptiles faring in the 21st century?

“Amphibian and reptile decline is happening all over the world. Take the cricket frog, for example. It has declined in the Great Lakes area, but there are still sites in Lake County where that frog can be found. It’s actually an inch-long tree frog, but it lives like a bullfrog in that it likes areas along the margin of open water.”

You mentioned the bullfrog; that’s a tenacious creature.

“Oh, gosh, I’ve seen photos of a bullfrog that had choked to death trying to swallow a bullhead. They’re quite the predator.”

I always was fascinated by the mud puppy.

“The mud puppy would be one of my favorites among the salamanders. They get to be about 18 inches long and are active all year long; ice fishermen catch them. They have external gills and they never become terrestrial.”

Explain the latter, please.

“Mud puppies remain as giant larvae in adulthood; the mud puppy retains its aquatic habits and external gills.”

Whereas other species of salamanders eventually live on land.

“Exactly.”

“Grand Cal Al,” it’s been a pleasure.

“Same here, ‘Kankakee Kid.’ ”

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Concerning his pet turtle, Resetar is grandfathered because he can prove George was acquired before 2005. Box turtles are a protected species in Indiana and cannot be collected in the wild.

Resetar told me George will be bequeathed to someone; box turtles can live more than 100 years. I’m sure it will be a sad day for George when Alan’s time comes.

Those two have been friends a long time.