It was stiff, about the size of a human forearm, wrapped in yellowing, blood-stained gauze and plastic. And it smelled of death.

Holingue, who works as an illustrator for the Chicago Tribune, has been walking the area around the ten-acre pond his entire life, more than 50 years. It’s only a block from his grandparents’ house, where he was raised and still lives. He comes to the pond six times a day, walking at least one of his four dogs and observing the wildlife. “Human wildlife too,” he says. He calls it his “urban wilderness” and knows it so well he’s written a book about it, Tales From an Urban Wilderness, with Tribune writer Kenan Heise.

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Holingue, who regards the pond as his neighborhood, is the quintessential neighborhood activist: he hasn’t joined any organizations and hates time spent arguing in meetings. Instead he’s a direct-action guy, a Clark Kent friend of the animals, even the widely disparaged pigeon. He gives the term “do-gooder” fresh life, being neither sanctimonious nor preachy as he prowls through the park, often joking darkly about the foibles of his fellow humans.

Holingue doesn’t just help birds and animals. He says a couple of weeks ago he was the only one of 20 passersby who intervened when a black street repairman, fearful of losing his job, stood passively as a middle-aged white woman cursed him, insulted his race, and even pushed and hit him after he told her she couldn’t drive her Mercedes south on Lake View because of road repairs. Holingue pulled her away from the man, then took down her license number.

On our walking tour Holingue talked about the natural marvels of the pond. “Most people just see what is directly in front of them. I try to teach them to see beyond their noses and beyond their immediate concerns. While waiting for the bus they might miss a marvelous blue heron circling over and landing on North Pond. In the next month the north end of the pond will be thronged with all kinds of ducks and migrating waterfowl–Canada geese, wood ducks, mallards, mergansers. And the trees and brush on the edge of the pond will be filled with migrating songbirds who have used this area as part of their annual flyway for years, perhaps centuries.” He also recalls the regular visits of a great horned owl that preyed on rats and other rodents that live near the pond.

Holingue says he sees a lot of crime. It keeps him out of the park after dark.