Creatures of cultural folklore, these ancient marine reptiles struggle for survival in our modern world. Though they are fittingly adapted for life at sea, human impacts on their habitat and nesting areas continue to take their toll on sea turtle populations. This month's Land, Sea, & Air explores the unique lives of sea turtles and the various threats they face in their habitat.

Sea turtles are cold-blooded. Use the Animal Sing Along activity to introduce K-3 students to different animal characteristics and classification.

Students in grades 4-8 use their math skills to complete A Calculating Turtle Tale. They can learn one of the major threats to sea turtles and learn what it takes to protect sea turtles with Line up for Recycling and Sea Turtle Summit.

How are sea turtles and land turtles different? How many sea turtle species exist? Which is the largest? The smallest? Answer these questions and many more by exploring the Sea Turtle InfoBook.

Despite several management measures to preserve sea turtles, their future is still in question. All sea turtle species are either threatened or endangered, mostly due to human related factors including: nest site disturbances, accidental entanglement in fishing gear, pollution, illegal hunting and egg collecting, and global climate change. The SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund supports the following projects directed toward saving sea turtle species:

Which species is critically endangered? Which are threatened? Search the IUCN Redlist and U.S. Fish & Wildlife's Endangered Species Program websites to discover the most current population status for each sea turtle species.

Did you know? In early 2010, SeaWorld Orlando rescued nearly 300 "cold-stunned" sea turtles as a result of an Arctic blast that caused extremely low water temperatures. In late 2009, SeaWorld San Diego welcomed its second group of green sea turtle hatchlings, the second successful sea turtle hatching for San Diego. Hear more sea turtle success stories by taking a behind-the-scenes tour at SeaWorld or adding an In-Depth Tour to your SeaWorld Instructional Field Trip (SeaWorld San Diego only). Visit the links below for more information.