Satellite tracking of threatened loggerhead sea turtles has revealed two previously unknown feeding ‘hotspots’ in the Gulf of Mexico that are providing important habitat for at least three separate populations of the turtles.

ORLANDO, Fla., June 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Animals in need and endangered species around the world will benefit from more than $1 million in grants awarded this year by the non-profit SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund.

The “turtle and dugong capital of the world”, the northern Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and Torres Strait region, faces increased pressure under climate change from human actions such as fishing, hunting, onshore development and pollution.

The population sizes of six species of sea turtles listed as either endangered or threatened in the United States cannot be accurately determined based on currently available information, says a new report from the National Research Council.

Japan has handed 13 endangered sea turtles, born and raised in captivity, over to a Singapore aquarium to prepare them for release into a natural habitat later this year.