Earlier this morning, members of the SeaWorld Orlando animal rescue team returned a rehabilitated, sub-adult loggerhead sea turtle back into the waters of the Canaveral National Sea Shore in Titusville, Fla. This is the fifth turtle release of 2012.

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.

The Pacific coast of Nicaragua is a favorite nesting site for four of the seven known sea turtle species. As a result, efforts to protect and preserve this useful area are crucial to the long-term conservation of the turtles.

Yesterday morning, SeaWorld Orlando’s senior veterinarian performed surgery on a rescued sea turtle, removing a large fishing hook from its throat.

SeaWorld was a very popular exhibitor at this year’s San Diego High Tech Fair. The fair is held annually with cooperation from the San Diego Science Alliance, the San Diego County Office of Education and San Diego City Schools.

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.

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 was our biggest event - we had almost 400 students in this school alone. It was Conservation Day and they took it very seriously. There was a parade with a band, cheerleaders, and an overall excitement from the whole community. Prepping juice boxes, snacks and prizes for all the different contests was challenging - we had to make a few trips from the hotel just to get everything there - luckily, it was the closest school we visited.

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.