Thousands of olive ridley sea turtle hatchlings made their way to into the sea off the coast of Tamil Nadu under the watchful eyes of wildlife officials.

Footage from March 18 shows around 5,000 hatchlings being set free to make their way into the sea in Sirkali.

The hatchlings will return in eight years to lay their own eggs.

Location: Sirkazhi Mayiladudhurai Tamilnadu state. Oliver Ridley turtles lay eggs during the December month and these eggs are preserved in egg hatcheries set up by the forest department. These 5000 hatchlings are brought to the shores and they made their way to the sea of the coast. These will return after 8 years to the same land where they were born to lay eggs.