On Thursday, the South Carolina Aquarium organized its first sea turtle release event of the summer season. Six sea turtles were released back into the sea off the coast of South Carolina.

Out of six, five were considered to be among the most endangered species of sea turtles in the world. The releases included a green turtle and five Kemp’s ridley sea turtles. These turtles are not only critically endangered and are also the rarest sea turtles in the world. The current release has taken the total number of sea turtles to be released up to 163.

Before being released into the wild, the turtles have undergone a successful rehabilitation process at the aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital. The Sea Turtle Rescue employees were of the view that the most exciting part of their job was when those turtles entered into the water and took off into the wild.

Sea Turtle Rescue Program Manager, Kelly Thorbalson, said, “This is what we're here for. We take these turtles in, most often on their death bed and we get them better. Sometimes that takes a very, very long time, but that day they get released is really what it's all about”.

Experts affirmed that sea turtles are cold blooded and quite migratory in nature. Thorbalson affirmed that the turtles do not migrate from the northern regions before cold fronts come. Through it, they can become cold stunned, hypothermic and shut down.

The releases turtles are in excellent health and were ready to leave from the Sea Turtle Hospital and return to the wild. In 2014, 2,080 turtle nests were found across the state of South Carolina.