SeaWorld Orlando‘s animal rescue team is currently caring for two hawksbill turtle hatchlings. Both are about two months old. One of the babies was found in a weakened, lethargic state on Melbourne Beach in Florida by a tourist. The other hatchling was found on Cocoa Beach covered in algae and fauna.
Baby hawksbill turtle found lethargic on Melbourne Beach.
Baby hawksbill turtle found on Cocoa Beach covered in algae and fauna.
SeaWorld turtle experts (or aquarists), are monitoring and caring for the turtles around the clock. The hatchlings are living in a brooder (a heated shelter) which is kept at a constant 84 degrees F. Although recovery will be tough, the turtles are showing positive signs.
Hawksbill turtles are considered critically endangered by the IUCN Redlist due to loss of habitat and human exploitation.
A tawny frogmouth chick, hatched April 11, 2010 at SeaWorld Orlando, reaches for a bite to eat.
This tawny frogmouth chick, shown being fed by its mother, is the 24th chick bred by SeaWorld aviculturists over the past 10 years. In the past, tawny frogmouth breeding programs were largely unsuccessful, and populations in North American zoos dwindled. But SeaWorld worked with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) to improve captive breeding methods, and the program has helped strengthen population numbers. The little guy pictured above is the first chick in the program to be raised by its parents, instead of hand-reared by aviculturists.
Tawny frogmouths inhabit the savannas and open woodlands of Australia. When threatened, they rely on camouflage for protection.
SeaWorld aquarist Jenny Albert covers up a “cold stunned” endangered green turtle to keep the animal warm at SeaWorld’s Rescue and Rehabilitation Center.
Many green sea turtles have been adversely affected by the Arctic blast that has swept over most of the U.S. recently. Two dozen “cold-stunned” green sea turtles have been taken in by SeaWorld’s Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Orlando, Florida, where they are treating the endangered turtles with heat lamps, blankets, and warm fluids.
To learn more about green sea turtles, read Animal Fact Guide’s article: Green Turtle.
Walker is a four-week-old Caribbean flamingo at SeaWorld Orlando. He eats fish, krill, hard boiled eggs, and cereal. When he matures, he’ll also eat a special formula made just for flamingos. At three years, he’ll develop the characteristic bright pink plumage. The coloring results from eating carotenoid pigments found in a variety of plant and animal life.
Four Asian small-clawed otters were born at SeaWorld Orlando three weeks ago. Bred as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquarium’s Species Survival Plan, Asian small-clawed otters are threatened in the wild by habitat destruction, hunting, and pollution. In the wild, they live in the rivers, creeks, estuaries and coastal waters of Southeast Asia, from northern India to southeastern China, the Malay Peninsula and parts of Indonesia.