SeaWorld Orlando animal rescue team received two hawksbill turtle hatchlings earlier this week. They are approximately two months old.

The first was found at Melbourne Beach by a tourist and was dropped off at the Sea Turtle Preservation Society in Melbourne Beach, Fla. It weighs only 2 ounces and is nearly 3 inches long. The turtle was in lethargic and weak condition when it arrived.

To kick off 2012 and get you excited for the opening of TurtleTrek at SeaWorld Orlando this spring, we wanted to focus on turtles for this week’s Species Spotlight. A one-of-a-kind 3-D/360-degree movie is only part of TurtleTrek’s allure.

Since 2003, the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund has helped over 500 projects around the world with Species Research, Habitat Protection, Animal Rescue & Rehabilitation and Conservation Education. My name is Yaritza Aponte and I have been selected as an ambassador for the Fund to travel to Nicaragua and work with Fauna & Flora International (FFI) to help educate locals on the importance of conserving the Sea Turtles.

SeaWorld returned an endangered baby Hawksbill sea turtle back to nature after a successful recovery stay at the park's Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center.

SeaWorld aquarists released the little turtle several miles off the shore of Jupiter, FL into large areas of seaweed. The seaweed serves as a floating nursery for the hatchling and provides a critical hiding place from predators.

The Arctic blast that has most of the country in a frigid vice grip is also taking its toll on endangered sea turtles. Since January 6, nearly 100 “cold-stunned” sea turtles from Florida to North Carolina have taken shelter at SeaWorld Orlando's Rescue and Rehabilitation Center. Cold stun is a condition that causes sea turtles to become lethargic and float to the surface due to extreme cold water temperatures