I have been interested in all animals for as long as I can remember. I find something interesting in every group of animals. Mammals have the means of expression closest to us, and when carefully respected and studied, they allow us humans to establish truly amazing interspecies partnerships with some of our closest relatives. That is why I try to educate myself as responsibly as possible about horses, dogs, and cats, so that I can be a somewhat acceptable companion to these amazing creatures. Perhaps other mammalian or avian personal friends will join them in time. Birds fascinate me because, in my opinion, they are the best musicians and travelers in the world. Reptiles first captivated me during a sort of dinosaur phase that many boys go through, and they have held my attention ever since. It's a shame that there are so few of them living in Czechia. After all, my passion for paleontology still holds me today, and amphibians are a living reminder of "pre-dinosaur" times. Fish vertebrates, on the other hand, have a charm of mystery and adventure for me thanks to their life below the surface. I am well aware that vertebrates are just one tree or branch in the forest of so-called invertebrates. I keep tarantulas, and I still don't understand what is so repulsive about them; apparently, I will die mistaken and in ignorance in this regard. Butterflies fascinate me because they tell us a lot about the environment they inhabit, not least because generations of enthusiastic naturalists have accumulated an impressive amount of knowledge about them, similar to that about birds.
I like large areas with few human settlements, whether they are tropical rainforests, deserts, taiga, high mountains, polar regions, or some forgotten corner of Central Europe. But I enjoy meeting interesting (in the broadest sense of the word) and nice people. I also like to educate myself on humanities topics, but I don't need too many strangers and their creations per square meter around me. I enjoy manual labor, such as working in agriculture and with wood.
I come from the eastern outskirts of Prague. I spent many years at the Faculty of Science, where I am now completing my doctorate on the evolution of sturgeon vision. It's an interesting experience, even though I'm more of a naturalist than a biologist in today's sense. The Young Naturalists' Station in Prague's Smíchov district played a huge role in my interest in (primarily) living nature. I also consider the Bohemian Karst, Křivoklátsko, Brdy, Šumava, and Jizerské Mountains to be part of my home.
Thanks to Save Elephants, I was able to visit Congo, and I try to support the activities of this amazing association from afar as much as possible. It is an honor for me, and I still find it incredible and fascinating that I could have anything to do with a corner of the world where Congo and other countries of interest to us are located. Thank you for that.
Totem animals: elephant, okapi, horse, Great Dane, large wolf subspecies, capercaillie, bustard, crane, harpy eagle, Gaboon viper, Chrysichthys catfish, Hamilton's squid, saga grasshopper.
Totem plants: silver fir, cross gentian, Diospyros crassiflora, Protea cynaroides
Authors who have significantly influenced me: James Oliver Curwood, Jack London, Miloslav Nevrlý, Jiří Andreska, Norbert Záliš, Jeremy James, František Šusta, Peter Wohlleben, Josef and Zdeněk Vágner, Bernhard and Michael Grzimek.
