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.

Meet Clyde….not the silly sea lion that you’re all familiar with, but Clyde the Asian water monitor (also known as a Malayan water monitor). You can see him at SeaWorld San Diego’s Animal Connections, where trainers occasionally walk him around for guests to meet up-close.

It’s Friday - and officially the last day of the project here in Nicaragua. We all met for breakfast and then geared up to go sea turtle watching. I had seen many baby turtles, but I could not leave without seeing at least one adult turtle. Jose wanted to show us how they monitor the turtles coming to the beach. Ideally, they want males so that they can tag them and take DNA testing for their research – but it’s harder to find males since they don’t come ashore to lay eggs.

Today, we began implementing our outreach project by visiting Erwin Krueger Elementary School in Aguas Calientes, Nicaragua. Due to the rainy season, just getting there was a challenge – we had to cross small rivers, and some very muddy areas in which the truck would sometimes get stuck. After three hours, and more than a little motion sickness from all the bumps along the way, we made it.

Today, we met very early to pack the truck and head out to El Astillero community. It took us almost four hours to get there.

Our first stop was to collaborate with youth volunteers that come from homes in which the parents used to poach sea turtles, and sell and eat their eggs. These teens now come and share their experiences with the children at the schools in order to make a difference in sea turtle conservation. FFI is working with families in these communities by helping them find other alternatives for work.

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.

Did you know that turtles are reptiles - and that records show their existence during the days of the dinosaurs over 200 million years ago? With such a lengthy past of survival it’s hard to believe that of the seven sea turtle species - all but one are now listed as either threatened or endangered.

Loggerheads are amazing animals that are almost 110 million years old. And, whether they are swimming or just resting on the bottom of the sea floor, these omnivorous ocean-dwellers are always interesting!

Another sea turtle life saved!! A 250-pound green sea turtle with serious injuries is on the road to recovery after receiving life-saving medical treatment at our SeaWorld San Diego’s Animal Care Complex. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrative (NOAA) brought the adult male, named Bruce, to us Jan. 25. NOAA researchers spotted the animal breathing slowly, lethargic and pretty much non-responsive during a routine turtle survey in San Diego’s South Bay.

SeaWorld Orlando’s animal experts today returned 15 rehabilitated and now-healthy Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles to the wild. The highly endangered reptiles were released at Winterhaven Park in Ponce Inlet, Florida, near Daytona Beach.