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[00:00.40] Scientists in Thailand have released a group of endangered sea turtles in an effort to save the wild population.

[00:11.29] A total of 11 baby leatherback sea turtles were recently released into the Indian Ocean from Thailand’s vacation island of Phuket.

[00:24.84] The researchers are hoping the one-year-old turtles will get strong in the wild and return in 20 years to reproduce.

[00:36.26] The release follows an intense conservation effort in recent years that centered on improving longtime survival rates for the sea creatures.

[00:49.81] In 2018, scientists discovered that leatherback sea turtles had returned to lay eggs in southern Thailand.

[01:00.96] Some stronger members of that group successfully entered the ocean, but others died after hatching.

[01:09.47] So, a program was launched to help the weak baby leatherbacks grow, said Pinsak Suraswadi.

[01:18.49] He is the Director-General of Thailand's Department of Marine and Coastal Resources.

[01:28.59] Thailand is one of five countries – including Sri Lanka and Canada – that has been able to keep leatherback turtles in good health through their first year.

[01:41.07] Usually, a leatherback will lay eggs after 20 to 25 years.

[01:47.98] The baby sea turtles, released last month, have satellite devices attached to them to follow their progress.

[01:58.34] The release was part of an international effort by the nonprofit conservation organization Upwell Turtles.

[02:12.41] Pinsak told Reuters news agency that it is necessary for researchers to study the animals’ travel path in order "to understand where they are going.”

[02:24.36] This helps the group know which measures to launch to protect the turtles’ hatching process.

[02:33.66] Leatherback sea turtles are believed to have developed more than 150 million years ago.

[02:40.83] But the animals are now extremely endangered in the Pacific area.

[02:47.21] The World Wildlife Fund estimates the current population in the Pacific to be fewer than 2,300 adult females.

[02:59.96] While in the ocean, the turtles face dangers from fishing equipment, eating plastic waste and coming in contact with poisonous substances.

[03:13.24] "I'm happy to know whether our effort in nurturing the leatherback sea turtles for a year proves fruitful or not," said Hirun Kanghae. He is with Thailand’s Phuket Marine Biological Center.

[03:31.57] "If they survive it answers everything about the conservation and population restoration of the leatherback sea turtles in the best way possible," Hirun added.