December 10, 2011 was planting day for the campers at Busch Gardens Tampa. For the last three years, as part of the park’s summer camp program, campers have been helping raise hundreds of their own salt marsh plants, all species native to the Tampa Bay estuary.

Only one breed of bear calls the dense jungles of South America home – the Spectacled Bear.  These shy creatures are rarely seen and have become listed as “Vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List.  Although population data is sketchy, some estimates suggest that fewer than 3,000 spectacled bears may remain in the wild today.  The reasons for their disappearance are many – poaching, destruction of their habitat, and being killed by farmers as agricultural pests.

To many, the Bald Eagle stands as a symbol of long life and great strength – and one facility in Virginia is making sure that this proud predator lives up to its reputation.

It’s a rare sight these days – catching a glimpse of the sun glistening off the shiny, black coat of a Javan leopard as it makes its way through the Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park.  These gorgeous animals have earned the unfortunate status of “Critically Endangered” on the IUCN red list.

It’s a sight of incredible beauty - snow-capped mountains, wild rivers and pine-clad forests surrounded by a sea of grasslands.   The Sky Island region offers a unique blending of biodiversity that reflects an expression of life found nowhere else on Earth. 

SeaWorld San Diego recently participated in the celebration of Sea Otter Awareness Week, to help educate the public about a species threatened by oil spills, entanglement in fishing nets and disease.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and the Cahoon Elementary Magnet School of Animal Science have teamed up to provide students with a innovative, year-long program that will challenge children to strategize solutions regarding some of our world’s greatest conservation challenges. The project is called “Conservation Matters” and allows children to apply the abstract knowledge of Language Arts, Social Studies, Math and Science directly to real-life conservation challenges.

Brrrr! Usually a warm and temperate climate, Central Florida is experiencing some relatively cold temperatures this week. From flamingos to giraffes, some animals love the cold weather. However, some don't! How does our Zoo team make sure that all the animals are comfortable when the temps drop? Watch this interview with Busch Gardens Director of Education, Bill Street, and find out how they do it.

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment has a lot to be thankful for this year, especially the successful births of these amazing animals:

Definitely the largest babies this year were killer whales -- tipping the scales at about 350 pounds!  Both SeaWorld Orlando and San Antonio added to their killer whale families.

As you and your family are planning for your Thanksgiving dinner, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens animal experts are doing just the same. However, this is something they do all year long -- preparing nutritious and appetizing diets for the thousands of animals who call SeaWorld and Busch Gardens home.