Secrets of the Penguins (2025) s01e01 Episode Script

1
[Narrator] 65 million
years ago when the world
was a different place,
one brave
bird gave up wings
for flippers and
has never looked back
18 species of penguin
have gone on
to become masters
of sea and land.
[squawking]
Now from the greatest
penguin colonies on
earth new science reveals
there's more to them
than we ever imagined.
-Here's good, here's good.
[Narrator] Their "bird brains"
might be brilliant.
-No way, they're
working as a team!
That's one of the
best things I've ever
seen in nature.
[Narrator] Bravery,
their superpower.
And here in Antarctica
-Here we go.
[wind howling]
[Narrator] The coldest
place on earth
-Good luck
little penguins!
[Narrator] As the emperor
penguins' world melts
beneath their feet
[Bertie] Come on little chick.
[Narrator] The untold
story of a new generation
of chicks reveals
how their bonds with
family, and friends
-Surely they're not
thinking of going off there!
[Narrator] shape
their destiny.
[ dramatic music playing]
[wind howling]
[ uplifting music playing]
[Narrator] Every year
when winter begins,
the sea around
Antarctica freezes over
creating a
vast platform of ice.
Here, 20,000 emperor
penguins come ashore
to raise a family.
[ peaceful music playing]
Emperor chicks are the
only animals who grow up
through the coldest,
darkest winter on the planet.
But that's just the
beginning of their story
[chirping]
[squawking]
Winter's over and this
chick is now 5 months old.
Her parents have kept
her safe and well-fed,
but now they must leave,
returning to the ocean
to eat and gain strength,
to do it all again,
next year.
National Geographic Explorer
and award-winning
cinematographer,
Bertie Gregory,
is living with the
colony and documenting how
this year's chicks will
face this defining milestone.
[Bertie] Oh yum!
Make the most of
that meal buddy,
cause the next one you're
going to have to get yourself.
Poor chick.
I mean, imagine being
fed your entire life by
Mom and Dad, and
then all of a sudden, they say,
"Now we're
going to stop,
and by the way your next
meal is 30 miles that way,
in the middle
of the ocean.
You're on your own."
[Narrator] She doesn't yet
know they won't be coming back
but she seems to
sense something's up.
[chirping]
[squawking]
[chirping]
Although she'll likely
never see her parents again,
they've prepared
her for this,
from the beginning.
[Bertie] It's the biggest
moment in their young lives.
Together, they're going
to have to figure out how
to get to the sea, how
to hunt for themselves,
how to be a penguin.
And that's becoming
harder every year.
Oh.
[chirping]
There's an absolute
little tiddler just here.
[chirping]
It's teeny tiny,
it's so much smaller
than the other chicks.
I'm actually surprised
a chick that small has
been left alone, maybe
his parents didn't make it
back from an
earlier fishing trip.
And while he is very, very
cute because he's so small
I'm really worried because
there's a big storm that's
forecast to roll in,
and he's so much more
vulnerable than
the bigger chicks.
It makes my heart hurt.
[wind howling]
[wind howling]
[squawking]
This wind's
starting to crank up.
It is getting really cold.
I've lost that
tiny little chick.
I don't know
where it's gone.
[Narrator] Adults survive
storms by huddling
together to keep warm.
But most are gone.
And the chicks
are spread out,
rapidly losing body
heat into the air.
They'll make it
through if they remember,
they need to move
and help each other.
[wind howling]
[wind howling]
[cries]
[ uplifting music playing]
[Bertie]It's really
interesting,
as this wind
starts to build,
a lot of the chicks
that before were just
kind of scattered around,
and as the wind builds,
they're all
gravitating together.
[uplifting music playing]
They're just like
their parents,
the chicks are forming
their very own huddle.
[dramatic music playing]
I've spotted the
teeny tiny little chick,
on his own on the
edge of the group.
Come on little chick.
[dramatic music playing]
[chirping]
Well done.
Well, he's managed
to get himself surrounded
by some bigger chicks.
His parents
might have gone,
but his friends
are standing by him.
[wind howling]
I just hope this
rookie huddle is going
to be enough to
keep them all alive.
[wind howling]
Yeah, this is getting
dangerous for us now.
Good luck little penguins.
[wind howling]
[wind howling]
[zipper]
Oh, I really hope that
little chick's ok.
[wind howling]
[uplifting music playing]
[Bertie] Oh no.
No.
Poor little thing.
Oh.
That is heartbreaking.
Looking at the size this
one does look a little bigger
than that really
small one.
Must have just been
stuck out here alone.
Uh, it's just so sad
not just for the chick but,
you know, the parents,
the amount of effort that
goes into raising
each of these chicks.
Oh.
[somber music playing]
Oh, wow, well, that little
chick sadly hasn't made it,
I'm very relieved that
most of them have.
And together these
chicks have overcome
that big challenge.
[chirping]
No way!
[laughs]
The little chick has
made it through the storm,
what an absolute
little trooper.
Those other, bigger
chicks huddling around
the little one
helped him get through.
Oh well done.
[uplifting music playing]
[Narrator] But
this isn't the only
relationship
they'll rely on.
Bertie and the team are
discovering the emperors'
entire existence
depends on their ability
to forge connections
and it all starts
with their parents.
[uplifting music playing]
[uplifting music playing]
At four years
old this young empress
is done growing up.
Now she's back home
and she's got nine months
to try and raise a
family before the platform
of ice melts away again.
She's equipped
for the challenge,
at four feet
emperors are the tallest
and strongest penguins.
But her success depends
on something deeper.
Emperors don't mate for
life but she'll still have
to form one of the
strongest bonds in nature.
And she's found
someone with potential.
[squawking]
Like some songbirds,
emperors can produce
two sounds at once.
[squawking]
Giving each a unique voice.
[squawking]
They're learning
each other's to
show they're serious.
[squawking]
But emperor couples
don't just communicate
with their voices.
They're playing copycat.
It's their way of saying,
"You can count on me."
[uplifting music playing]
The next stage of courtship
is a little less, graceful.
In just two weeks,
they'll face the
first big test of
their relationship.
[squawking]
[upbeat music playing]
[Narrator] Raising chicks
through the Antarctic winter is
so hard emperors only
lay one egg a year,
the size of a grapefruit.
And in this society,
it's the fathers who look
after them until they hatch.
Keeping the egg off the
ice in a featherless patch
called a brood pouch.
But getting it from
Mom to Dad tests their
collaboration and trust.
If the egg spends much more
than 60 seconds on the ice,
the chick inside will die.
For the young empress,
there's still
no sign of an egg
But as the couple waits,
the National Geographic
team captures behavior
never filmed before.
A clue to how emperors
master the handover.
They practice.
[upbeat music playing]
It's a sign of their
shared commitment to
getting this right,
if the real
thing does arrive.
[squawking]
[serene music playing]
[uplifting music playing]
Her first egg.
It's time for Dad to
step up so she can go eat.
He's got to read
her body language.
That means, "I'm ready.
Like, now."
[suspenseful music playing]
[uplifting music playing]
Practice pays off.
[squawking]
The life of their firstborn
is now in his hands
feet.
She must trust him with
their egg for two months
as she regains
her strength at sea.
[squawking]
When she returns the
resilience of their bond
will make or break
their family's future.
Until then, he'll rely
on a different alliance.
A ritual as ancient as
the emperors themselves.
[wind howling]
[wind howling]
[Narrator] For six weeks
the father-to-be hasn't
eaten or even
laid down to sleep,
protecting his
precious egg,
but now they face
their biggest challenge yet.
[wind howling]
As the wind rushes off the
ice shelf onto the sea ice,
it accelerates to 120
miles an hour creating
what's known as
katabatic storm.
[wind howling]
It's minus 54 degrees
and there's only one way
he and his unborn
chick will survive.
[squawking]
[wind howling]
He must join 5,000
other fathers in a huddle.
They've been practicing for
this since they were chicks
It's one of nature's
greatest spectacles,
but we're just
beginning to understand
its mysterious power.
They must stand as close
together as possible with
only the tips of
their feathers touching.
Each penguin's feathers
act like insulation,
trapping in a
layer of warm air.
If they press against each
other that warmth is lost.
But if they stand
just millimeters apart,
the heat is
shared between them.
The middle can
reach 99 degrees.
But it's the dynamics
of the huddle that reveal
an extraordinary truth
about emperor society.
The fathers move in waves
and they're not
pushing to the center
to keep themselves alive.
They're shuffling away
step by step,
so even late arrivals,
like Dad get their
turn in the warmth.
[uplifting music playing]
Because each takes
only what they need,
they all win.
It means these dads might
keep a whole generation
alive by sharing
through the coldest,
darkest winter
on the planet.
[serene music playing]
With the help of
the brotherhood,
the young emperor has
made it through the winter
[peaceful music playing]
And so has his daughter.
She could fit in a teacup.
[screeching]
With a voice that
would shatter one.
[screeching]
She needs food that
only her mother can deliver.
[distant squawking]
[upbeat music playing]
Exactly how is
still a mystery,
but after around
two months at sea,
a hormonal change
tells the emperor mothers
it's time to come home.
They return with a
meal within just days of
their chicks hatching.
[screeching]
[distant squawking]
A voice he knows
[squawking]
[distant squawking]
hers.
[squawking]
But can she identify his?
[squawking]
She has the rare ability
to filter out the cacophony
of 20,000 voices
[distant squawking]
to isolate just one.
[squawking]
[squawking]
[chirping]
He has not let her down.
Her parents' partnership
has kept her alive,
but she won't be able
to rely on them forever.
And the team captures
a clue how they'll
prepare her for independence.
[squawking]
[uplifting music playing]
[chirping]
[Narrator] Scientists
believe it's possible that
at just two weeks old,
the chicks are already being
encouraged
to make friends.
[chirping]
Their mothers bring
them face to face.
Perhaps so they can
learn to communicate,
the emperor way.
Even seeming to mimic
each other as adults do.
[chirping]
It's a mommy and me
class and the empress has
brought her daughter.
She's a little shy,
but mom knows how
important this will be.
[chirping]
At a month old, she's
starting to stand on
her own two feet,
with a little
help from mom.
By two months,
she's ready for daycare.
She's making the
bonds she'll need for the
rest of her life.
They will stick together,
like it or not.
Winter is nearly over,
and soon she'll rely
on them to keep her alive.
[quiet squawk]
[serene music playing]
The chicks are
now five months old.
Their parents have
gone and they've begun
their own journey to
the sea in search of a meal.
[Bertie] Their drive
is unbelievable and
it's not just this lot.
there are groups of
chicks everywhere making
their way to the sea.
[Narrator] Bertie's been
tracking this tiny chick
and his friends since
they survived the storm.
[Bertie] The chicks
really are growing up fast.
They've started this
amazing transformation
where they molt.
You know that grey
fluffy coat is amazing for
keeping warm on the ice,
but it's completely
useless in the water.
They need to lose it
and get their adult
feathers ready
for their first swim.
[Narrator] They're
following the oldest,
and most confident
of the group.
An internal compass takes
their brave leader north.
[motor whirring]
But they've run
into trouble.
[squawking, chirping]
As our climate warms,
the sea ice is
breaking apart earlier,
melting beneath
them before they're ready.
If their baby
feathers get too wet,
they can drag the chicks
underwater and drown them.
[chirping, splashing]
[Bertie] This is really
difficult to watch.
They are fighting
for their lives.
Go on!
[Narrator] The only world
the leader's ever known is
crumbling beneath her.
[splashing, chirping]
Waiting for the tiny chick
is becoming dangerous.
He's struggling
to keep up.
With the ice
melting rapidly,
they're all at risk.
[squawk]
The leader does
something no emperor chick
should ever have to do.
[somber music playing]
Leave their friend behind.
[somber music playing]
The others make
it onto stable ice.
[uplifting music playing]
[somber music playing]
[upbeat music playing]
The little chick
isn't finished yet.
[uplifting music playing]
His friends are in sight.
[chirping, squawking]
[chirping]
Together again.
[Bertie] Just when I
think these penguins have
hit their limit.
They do something
extraordinary.
[Narrator] After three
more days of marching
most of the chicks
have reached the sea.
They've lost enough baby
feathers and they're ready
for their first swim.
But in the scramble
to reach solid ice,
the leader has
taken a wrong path
and other groups
have followed
[suspenseful music playing]
-What on earth
is going on here?
[Narrator] Hundreds of
chicks are stuck on a
towering shelf of ice.
[Bertie] That cliff has
got to be 40, 50 feet high.
[suspenseful music playing]
[chirping]
[spouting]
-What was that?
It's killer whales.
We've got killer whales!
[spouting]
[spouting]
Well fortunately
for these penguins,
the killer whales look
like they are moving on.
[Narrator] But now
the ice is cracking,
a huge crevasse is
opening up behind them.
[chirping]
One last time,
the leader
steps forward.
[upbeat music playing]
[splash]
[squawking]
[Bertie] I can't believe it,
she's made it.
[squawking, chirping]
[upbeat music playing]
[squawking, chirping]
[upbeat music playing]
[Bertie] You know, we've
seen that these chicks
stick together,
so I think a lot are
going to start to jump.
Here they go,
here they go!
[upbeat music playing]
[upbeat music playing]
[Bertie] Those first brave
jumpers are giving the rest
the confidence to follow.
Some of them are even
trying to flap their wings
I had no idea that
the chicks would be able
to make such a giant leap.
And then happily
swim off together into
the Southern Ocean.
I really hope
that tiny chick is
in there somewhere.
[Narrator] In a world
that's changing fast,
emperors face
an uncertain future.
They'll rely more
than ever on the bonds
they form with
family and friends.
[Bertie] Good luck
little penguins
[upbeat music playing]