According to a Thursday announcement by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the first group of the endangered turtle hatchlings – comprising 56 endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles – has been released into the Atlantic Ocean.

The agency said that the first batch of the Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles – which, as per experts, is the rarest turtle on earth; with only one out of every 1,000 hatchlings surviving to adulthood – was released this week on a beach at Canaveral National Seashore, Florida.

The turtles had been relocated last week when, in an attempt to save their progeny from the dangers of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, some of their eggs were being moved from Florida’s west coast to the east coast.

As a part of the ongoing effort to save the turtles, state and federal officials intend relocating thousands more eggs for incubation. The unprecedented turtle relocation effort to save the turtles is being supported by David Godfrey, the chief of the Sea Turtle Conservancy.

Meanwhile, Dr. Joe Flanagan – Houston Zoo’s Director of Veterinary Services; and an expert on Kemp’s Ridley turtles – is of the opinion that since Kemp’s Ridleys do not have a natural instinct to avoid oil, the endangered babies are unsuspectingly headed right into oil spill.

Flanagan added: “It'll be a race between the clean-up and the turtles. And at this point we want the turtles to go at a turtle's pace.”