A massive Kemp's ridley sea turtle - the world's smallest and most critically endangered sea turtle species - washed ashore on a Galveston, Texas, beach on March 7, 2026, launching an emergency rescue that has her fighting for survival at the Houston Zoo. And her story is arriving alongside a feel-good milestone: 27 turtles of the same species were just released back into the Gulf of Mexico after months of rehab in Mississippi.