Each month in the Wildlife Watching Notes from the Field email, we at the Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) are going to highlight one of our constituents and the role wildlife viewing plays in their life. Are you a wildlife viewer or photographer who would like to be featured or know someone who would be great to feature? We’d love to hear from you! Just email social@dwr.virginia.gov and let us know!

Name: Karlie Pritchard

Hometown: Virginia Beach, Virginia

Occupation: Natural resources crew member for Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation and AmeriCorps. I travel to different Virginia State Parks and fulfill natural resource projects, from tracking wildlife to wildland firefighting.

How did you get interested in wildlife viewing?

I got my love and passion for wildlife from my Dad, he’s like Dr. Dolittle. My family and I are all animal lovers, but while my brother and sister were infatuated with our pets, I was more interested in the creatures crawling up from the swamp in our back yard.

What do you love about wildlife viewing?

I love being in a place of raw, undisturbed nature, a quiet place where you can appreciate the native wildlife. When I see an animal in the middle of the woods, I wonder if I could be the first person that animal has ever seen, and what they’re thinking of me! It’s like a peaceful moment between myself and a wild animal where we’re both just trying to understand one another.

Do you have a group you wildlife view with?

My co-workers mostly, friends, family and often alone.

What’s been your most memorable sighting?

Every experience I have had with a sea turtle in the wild was a moment of pure bliss!

Are you a wildlife viewer who would like to be featured or know someone who would be great to feature? We’d love to hear from you! Just email social@dwr.virginia.gov and let us know!