Sometimes, the most interesting conservation stories at SeaWorld are the ones that take place behind-the-scenes. One of the most interesting is our efforts to help a native Texas species, the Attwater’s Prairie Chicken.

A tawny frogmouth chick, hatched April 11, gets fed by its mother, while the father looks on. In less than a year, six chicks have been hatched at SeaWorld Orlando and all are now thriving.

This week, SeaWorld Orlando’s Animal Rescue Team successfully rescued a manatee from a canal in Satellite Beach, FL.

Nesting season for loggerhead sea turtles has begun in Florida and continues through August. This is critical time period for these endangered animals; often impacted by humans.

A SeaWorld San Diego animal rescue team comprised of Eric Otjen and Jody Westberg helped disentangle a young California gray whale in Dana Pt. harbor, just north of San Diego. They whale, thought to be about a year old, had rope and gill netting around its mouth, pectoral flippers and tail fluke area. After nearly two hours of painstaking work, the netting was cut away and the whale was able to swim freely. While the young animal is still swimming in the vicinity of the harbor, it is hoped that it will soon be able to join the northern migration.