Penguin Island (2010) s01e05 Episode Script
Rocky Finds Love at Last
There's a very special island off the south coast of Australia, where thousands of penguins come to breed.
And thousands of people come to watch.
Unique to this corner of our planet, the smallest of all penguin species, the Little Penguin, is battling to survive in a human world.
But a dedicated team of scientists has sworn to guard them from people, predators .
.
and this year, from the hottest summer since records began.
As starving chicks struggle to hang on, and their parents scour the oceans for a dwindling supply of fish, what will it take to protect these pocket-sized creatures? This week, a late-born penguin chick must grow up quickly or starve.
A new device reveals the penguins' amazing underwater life.
And a problem patient in the hospital on Penguin Island.
He's very lively, this guy.
He's just attacking everything.
A short waddle up from the parade beach is a popular hangout known as the Penguin Cafe.
For the entire summer breeding season, this amorous little penguin, Rocky, has been trying to find himself a mate .
.
but somehow every female seems to pass him by.
Just when he thinks he's in luck, some bigger bloke muscles in.
For Rocky, it's been a long summer without rain.
Now Jess, a two-year-old female, has caught his eye, and he seems to have caught hers.
For the first time in his young life, it looks like Rocky is going to be a dad.
Only problem, it's very late in the season to be starting a new family.
A month later and the couple waits for two precious eggs to hatch.
The neighbourhood around them has grown quiet.
The neighbourhood around them has grown quiet.
Most penguin chicks have grown up and gone to sea, or will soon be leaving, Most penguin chicks have grown up and gone to sea, or will soon be leaving, like Spike's family next door.
Spike's kids are almost big enough to move out.
But he still insists on early bedtime.
He and his missus will soon be empty-nesters, while Rocky's chicks haven't even hatched yet.
Just before dawn, the bugle call goes out.
Time for any remaining adults to depart for the day's fishing trip.
It's safest to travel in groups, so everyone leaves together.
Today it's Rocky's turn to go and feed up, while Jess minds the eggs.
Both parents need to eat heaps if they're going to support two new chicks.
Little Penguins always go to sea before sunrise.
In daylight, birds of prey maintain a kill zone right near the shoreline.
Rocky makes it to the sea before dawn.
Back at the Penguin Cafe, most nestboxes are empty during the day.
Just Spike's chubby chicks, home alone in box 133 .
.
and Jess, keeping the eggs warm in box 65.
Most penguins lay just one clutch of two eggs each year, but this is Jess' second attempt.
Her first chicks died, so she's trying again with a new partner.
It's a high-risk strategy.
There's very little time to raise the chicks before the annual moult.
That's the time at the end of each summer when all penguins must stop raising chicks and grow new feathers.
Meanwhile, Rocky's out at sea, feeding up for his impending fatherhood.
He's not the only one looking for food today.
Warm currents have brought schools of fish to the surface.
Australian fur seals cash in while the going's good.
So too do these hungry Australasian gannets.
Together they herd bait fish from above the sea surface, then torpedo in at high speed to grab them.
Underwater for a few seconds only, they gobble their prey down whole, before they resurface.
A powerful plunge diver, it's no bird to mess with.
So this one's being brought into the hospital with plenty of homemade gannet-proofing.
He's very lively, this guy.
Believe it or not, this is only a juvenile gannet, found abandoned and hungry on a nearby beach.
The penguin patients are not so sure about sharing their pool with a big gawky bird.
This grumpy gannet can't fly yet.
He'll starve without a mum to feed him.
But wildlife carer, Marg Healy, can't help him while he's being all aggro.
He's very freaky, isn't he? The most aggressive one I've had so far.
Yeah, yeah.
I think we should get out of here.
He's looking absolutely freaked.
He's just attacking everything.
Tonight we'll let him settle, not hassle him at all and then harass him tomorrow to feed him and try and teach him to take fish from my hand.
Some gannets are nice, some gannets are killers, and unfortunately this one sounds like he'd like to kill us.
Early evening at the tourist centre .
.
and there's an exciting development at the Penguin Cafe.
After 35 long days of incubation, Jess's first chick hatched this afternoon.
The fluff ball is just hours old.
Right now, he's totally blind and helpless.
Jess's second egg is also showing signs of life.
Penguin hatchlings have a tiny bump on their beaks called an egg tooth, to help them cut their way out.
Once free, their special opening tool disappears for good.
For Jess, the journey to parenthood has been plagued by discomfort.
Stuck in her nestbox, minding eggs, she can't go to sea and wash off parasites, like ticks.
Nor can she fish for her young.
Rocky must bring home food supplies tonight, otherwise this little thing won't last the week.
Back at the hospital, it's time for breakfast for that juvenile gannet .
.
and Ranger Jarvis is going to get a lesson in feeding large sea birds.
God, you're quick! First, when holding a gannet between your legs, always keep the beak pointing away from you.
Second, use welding gloves if available.
Don't relax.
He knows.
Only problem, this young bird is used to a breakfast pre-digested by his mother, not these defrosted sardines.
Oh, just a bit crooked.
I just want him to open his mouth just a bit more.
God, you're a silly gannet! OK, eat it.
The gannet just doesn't get it.
He's not leaving hospital till he's put on some weight.
What happens if you relax your grip? Oh! Come on, sweetheart.
Swallow it! That's it, good boy! I do think we're getting somewhere.
That's eight, and we're going for ten if possible.
20 would be good.
20 would be getting weight on, ten will keep him alive.
Marg's next trick, a home-made gannet launching device for getting him into the water, so he can start behaving like a real sea bird.
Keep going.
Keep going.
Keep going.
Ha! But no time for technology today.
Silly bird.
You should have just walked up the ramp.
He's got no co-ordination.
The gannet seems to be taking to the aquatic life, for the moment at least.
Rocky is still not home.
A newborn chick can last two days at most without food.
24 hours have already passed, and Jess's chick is very hungry.
And now, her other chick has nearly hatched, a second beak for her to feed.
Hatchlings cut a line around the widest part of the egg.
It's like opening a can of beans to make the largest escape hatch.
Jess does her best to help it into the world.
Her second chick has finally hatched, but its battle for life has only just begun.
The first of the day's fishing party are returning to the cafe.
Will Rocky be among them? The big chicks at box 133 are getting ready for dinner.
Spike is one of the first dads home.
He gives his boys the meal they've been hanging out for.
But the news is less good for the tiny newborns next door.
Three hours later, and their father still isn't home.
There'll be no dinner tonight.
Why has Rocky been out at sea for so long? The Phillip Island scientists want to find out, and they've got a collection of hi tech tracking devices to help them.
They've discovered that penguins swim an average of about 30 miles a day in search of fish, but won't return home till their bellies are full.
Rocky must be having trouble finding food.
Zoologist Andre Chiaradia attaches a tiny computerised logging device to an unsuspecting penguin.
So this tiny little computer, it's very sophisticated, with lots of sensors inside, gives a lot of information, what the birds are doing at sea.
So, how often they dive, how deep they dive, and how often they find food.
Data uploaded from these tiny gadgets shows that penguins like Rocky dive up to 70 metres on a single lungful of air, as many as 1,300 times a day.
Humans would need special equipment to survive such relentless pressure change.
Penguins adjust their dive depth according to the temperature of the water, because that determines the type of food available - anchovies, squid, or baby barracuda.
The little penguin even has an in-built desalination plant, to digest the salt water in whatever it eats.
Once loaded up with food, they form up in rafts, ready to come ashore when it's dark.
Visual clues guide them home, like underwater contours, and even the lighting towers on the parade beach.
First to set foot ashore, after three days away, is none other than Rocky.
And there's a welcoming committee waiting for him, but he's still got a 600 yard trek to get home to his family.
Rocky is struggling to keep up.
His belly is fit to burst.
He can barely squeeze through the fence, the shortcut to his nestbox.
He finds Jess waiting outside their home.
But sadly, Rocky is too late for their first chick.
Three days without food was just too much.
Rocky and Jess must now put all their effort, and their fish, into keeping the second infant alive Her chances of survival have just increased dramatically with the death of her brother.
It's unusual for penguins, but Rocky and Jess appear to be comforting each other after their loss.
Three weeks fly by on Phillip Island.
It's now early March.
Well-fed penguins, once admitted to hospital, starving or heat-stressed, now laze in the pool after a long lunch.
The place is beginning to look like a Club Med.
As for that adolescent gannet, he's getting room service breakfast every day, and, at last, he's putting on weight.
He's still not very nice to his personal dietician though! You have to go in the pool.
Now, time for some hydrotherapy.
Food that dries on feathers spoils waterproofing, so Marg's patient gets a shower in the penguin plunge pool.
Marg's hosing also forces him to limber up his wings, and prepare for flight.
Now three weeks old, Tilda, that's Rocky and Jess's sole surviving chick, is big enough to be left home alone.
Both parents out fishing means it's double helpings tonight .
.
but she's running out of summer.
Her parents will soon start moulting, then they won't be able to feed Tilda at all.
Next door, box 133 is now empty.
Spike's chicks have already grown up and gone to sea.
PENGUIN CALLS The following morning, there's a right old racket at the Penguin Cafe.
It's Spike! Instead of spending the day at sea, or sleeping in his box, he's camping out in the open behind a tree.
Ranger Beau Farnley has been called in to see what all the kerfuffle is about.
We've just got a penguin here that's been acting a bit strange, coming out all day.
We'll just grab him, have a quick look, and see if he's OK.
PENGUIN CALLS ANGRILY But this fella is in no mood to be examined.
I don't think there's anything too wrong with him.
He seems pretty good.
Yeah, he's pretty pretty vigorous! He's had a good nip at me, and he's trying to get away, so All right, all right.
OK, I'll let you go.
All right, I might just put him back, I think.
The feathers on the ground give the game away.
Spike has started moulting, and he couldn't have chosen a more uncomfortable place to do it.
Confined on land, unable to swim or feed, penguins stay tucked out of sight during early autumn.
It's a time when, frankly, they're not looking their best.
I guess some that don't have a good burrow to moult in, they'll get under a tree for three weeks, and try and deal with having to shed all your feathers, and I guess it'd be like losing all your hair once a year, then having to regrow it.
Nothing wrong with Spike.
He just needs some space right now.
Adults returning from the sea are visibly bigger.
They're piling on the fat reserves before they're stuck on land growing their new winter wardrobe.
The moment Tilda hears movement outside the nestbox, she starts her high-pitched squeaking.
PENGUIN SQUEAKS Rocky recognises his chick's unique call.
She's feeding well, and has reached 300 grams, but there's a rush on to fatten her up fast.
Jess has also had a successful day out fishing.
PENGUIN CALLS She calls out to let them know she's on her way with seconds.
Rocky leaves Tilda to her mum.
Rocky's beginning to scratch more than usual.
He too is about to undergo an unstoppable transformation.
Normally, he can recondition his feathers with a liquid wax secreted from a preen gland near his tail.
But this is different.
His old feathers will soon start to fall out, and then he'll be housebound.
Time's running out for Jess too.
When her hormones tell her it's time to shed feathers, they'll also tell her to stop feeding her own chick.
For little Tilda, one thing is certain.
If her parents abandon her now, she has no hope of surviving.
After weeks of high-protein diet, and the full spa treatment, the gannet is now a robust three kilos, and more than ready to learn to fish for himself.
He's been absolutely insanely chasing the penguins around the pool every feed.
He's actually being a bit mean cos the chicks don't know to get away from him, so he's pecking them, which isn't a nice thing.
Admittedly, very gently pecking.
He's not breaking skin, which he would with me.
So he's just playing, but he's sort of fractious and energetic.
It's time to let the gannet go.
Look, he's a really good weight, he's been doing all the right things water-wise, and there's just no point in keeping a healthy gannet.
Sorry, darling.
You're a bit over me, aren't you? Come on.
Oh, don't do that.
There's a boy! One final indignity, a trip to the beach in a plastic box that smells of penguins! Marg tries to make it as quick and painless as she can.
Four months old, it's this young gannet's first chance to fly.
Don't go that way.
Oh, that was a bit silly.
I wanted him to go out in the ocean, so he could actually fly off the water, rather than have to walk.
What are you doing? You go back that way.
Go on.
It's not looking good.
Will Marg's pre-flight training pay off? Go on.
Off you go.
At last, he works out what those big wings are for.
Then, there's no going back.
Bye.
Next week, in the final episode, work begins to remove all remaining houses from the colony.
No more holidays among the penguins, and after the toughest ever season on the island, little Tilda must choose.
Wait for her parents to return, or brave it alone out in the great Southern Ocean? E- mail subtitling@bbc.
co.
uk
And thousands of people come to watch.
Unique to this corner of our planet, the smallest of all penguin species, the Little Penguin, is battling to survive in a human world.
But a dedicated team of scientists has sworn to guard them from people, predators .
.
and this year, from the hottest summer since records began.
As starving chicks struggle to hang on, and their parents scour the oceans for a dwindling supply of fish, what will it take to protect these pocket-sized creatures? This week, a late-born penguin chick must grow up quickly or starve.
A new device reveals the penguins' amazing underwater life.
And a problem patient in the hospital on Penguin Island.
He's very lively, this guy.
He's just attacking everything.
A short waddle up from the parade beach is a popular hangout known as the Penguin Cafe.
For the entire summer breeding season, this amorous little penguin, Rocky, has been trying to find himself a mate .
.
but somehow every female seems to pass him by.
Just when he thinks he's in luck, some bigger bloke muscles in.
For Rocky, it's been a long summer without rain.
Now Jess, a two-year-old female, has caught his eye, and he seems to have caught hers.
For the first time in his young life, it looks like Rocky is going to be a dad.
Only problem, it's very late in the season to be starting a new family.
A month later and the couple waits for two precious eggs to hatch.
The neighbourhood around them has grown quiet.
The neighbourhood around them has grown quiet.
Most penguin chicks have grown up and gone to sea, or will soon be leaving, Most penguin chicks have grown up and gone to sea, or will soon be leaving, like Spike's family next door.
Spike's kids are almost big enough to move out.
But he still insists on early bedtime.
He and his missus will soon be empty-nesters, while Rocky's chicks haven't even hatched yet.
Just before dawn, the bugle call goes out.
Time for any remaining adults to depart for the day's fishing trip.
It's safest to travel in groups, so everyone leaves together.
Today it's Rocky's turn to go and feed up, while Jess minds the eggs.
Both parents need to eat heaps if they're going to support two new chicks.
Little Penguins always go to sea before sunrise.
In daylight, birds of prey maintain a kill zone right near the shoreline.
Rocky makes it to the sea before dawn.
Back at the Penguin Cafe, most nestboxes are empty during the day.
Just Spike's chubby chicks, home alone in box 133 .
.
and Jess, keeping the eggs warm in box 65.
Most penguins lay just one clutch of two eggs each year, but this is Jess' second attempt.
Her first chicks died, so she's trying again with a new partner.
It's a high-risk strategy.
There's very little time to raise the chicks before the annual moult.
That's the time at the end of each summer when all penguins must stop raising chicks and grow new feathers.
Meanwhile, Rocky's out at sea, feeding up for his impending fatherhood.
He's not the only one looking for food today.
Warm currents have brought schools of fish to the surface.
Australian fur seals cash in while the going's good.
So too do these hungry Australasian gannets.
Together they herd bait fish from above the sea surface, then torpedo in at high speed to grab them.
Underwater for a few seconds only, they gobble their prey down whole, before they resurface.
A powerful plunge diver, it's no bird to mess with.
So this one's being brought into the hospital with plenty of homemade gannet-proofing.
He's very lively, this guy.
Believe it or not, this is only a juvenile gannet, found abandoned and hungry on a nearby beach.
The penguin patients are not so sure about sharing their pool with a big gawky bird.
This grumpy gannet can't fly yet.
He'll starve without a mum to feed him.
But wildlife carer, Marg Healy, can't help him while he's being all aggro.
He's very freaky, isn't he? The most aggressive one I've had so far.
Yeah, yeah.
I think we should get out of here.
He's looking absolutely freaked.
He's just attacking everything.
Tonight we'll let him settle, not hassle him at all and then harass him tomorrow to feed him and try and teach him to take fish from my hand.
Some gannets are nice, some gannets are killers, and unfortunately this one sounds like he'd like to kill us.
Early evening at the tourist centre .
.
and there's an exciting development at the Penguin Cafe.
After 35 long days of incubation, Jess's first chick hatched this afternoon.
The fluff ball is just hours old.
Right now, he's totally blind and helpless.
Jess's second egg is also showing signs of life.
Penguin hatchlings have a tiny bump on their beaks called an egg tooth, to help them cut their way out.
Once free, their special opening tool disappears for good.
For Jess, the journey to parenthood has been plagued by discomfort.
Stuck in her nestbox, minding eggs, she can't go to sea and wash off parasites, like ticks.
Nor can she fish for her young.
Rocky must bring home food supplies tonight, otherwise this little thing won't last the week.
Back at the hospital, it's time for breakfast for that juvenile gannet .
.
and Ranger Jarvis is going to get a lesson in feeding large sea birds.
God, you're quick! First, when holding a gannet between your legs, always keep the beak pointing away from you.
Second, use welding gloves if available.
Don't relax.
He knows.
Only problem, this young bird is used to a breakfast pre-digested by his mother, not these defrosted sardines.
Oh, just a bit crooked.
I just want him to open his mouth just a bit more.
God, you're a silly gannet! OK, eat it.
The gannet just doesn't get it.
He's not leaving hospital till he's put on some weight.
What happens if you relax your grip? Oh! Come on, sweetheart.
Swallow it! That's it, good boy! I do think we're getting somewhere.
That's eight, and we're going for ten if possible.
20 would be good.
20 would be getting weight on, ten will keep him alive.
Marg's next trick, a home-made gannet launching device for getting him into the water, so he can start behaving like a real sea bird.
Keep going.
Keep going.
Keep going.
Ha! But no time for technology today.
Silly bird.
You should have just walked up the ramp.
He's got no co-ordination.
The gannet seems to be taking to the aquatic life, for the moment at least.
Rocky is still not home.
A newborn chick can last two days at most without food.
24 hours have already passed, and Jess's chick is very hungry.
And now, her other chick has nearly hatched, a second beak for her to feed.
Hatchlings cut a line around the widest part of the egg.
It's like opening a can of beans to make the largest escape hatch.
Jess does her best to help it into the world.
Her second chick has finally hatched, but its battle for life has only just begun.
The first of the day's fishing party are returning to the cafe.
Will Rocky be among them? The big chicks at box 133 are getting ready for dinner.
Spike is one of the first dads home.
He gives his boys the meal they've been hanging out for.
But the news is less good for the tiny newborns next door.
Three hours later, and their father still isn't home.
There'll be no dinner tonight.
Why has Rocky been out at sea for so long? The Phillip Island scientists want to find out, and they've got a collection of hi tech tracking devices to help them.
They've discovered that penguins swim an average of about 30 miles a day in search of fish, but won't return home till their bellies are full.
Rocky must be having trouble finding food.
Zoologist Andre Chiaradia attaches a tiny computerised logging device to an unsuspecting penguin.
So this tiny little computer, it's very sophisticated, with lots of sensors inside, gives a lot of information, what the birds are doing at sea.
So, how often they dive, how deep they dive, and how often they find food.
Data uploaded from these tiny gadgets shows that penguins like Rocky dive up to 70 metres on a single lungful of air, as many as 1,300 times a day.
Humans would need special equipment to survive such relentless pressure change.
Penguins adjust their dive depth according to the temperature of the water, because that determines the type of food available - anchovies, squid, or baby barracuda.
The little penguin even has an in-built desalination plant, to digest the salt water in whatever it eats.
Once loaded up with food, they form up in rafts, ready to come ashore when it's dark.
Visual clues guide them home, like underwater contours, and even the lighting towers on the parade beach.
First to set foot ashore, after three days away, is none other than Rocky.
And there's a welcoming committee waiting for him, but he's still got a 600 yard trek to get home to his family.
Rocky is struggling to keep up.
His belly is fit to burst.
He can barely squeeze through the fence, the shortcut to his nestbox.
He finds Jess waiting outside their home.
But sadly, Rocky is too late for their first chick.
Three days without food was just too much.
Rocky and Jess must now put all their effort, and their fish, into keeping the second infant alive Her chances of survival have just increased dramatically with the death of her brother.
It's unusual for penguins, but Rocky and Jess appear to be comforting each other after their loss.
Three weeks fly by on Phillip Island.
It's now early March.
Well-fed penguins, once admitted to hospital, starving or heat-stressed, now laze in the pool after a long lunch.
The place is beginning to look like a Club Med.
As for that adolescent gannet, he's getting room service breakfast every day, and, at last, he's putting on weight.
He's still not very nice to his personal dietician though! You have to go in the pool.
Now, time for some hydrotherapy.
Food that dries on feathers spoils waterproofing, so Marg's patient gets a shower in the penguin plunge pool.
Marg's hosing also forces him to limber up his wings, and prepare for flight.
Now three weeks old, Tilda, that's Rocky and Jess's sole surviving chick, is big enough to be left home alone.
Both parents out fishing means it's double helpings tonight .
.
but she's running out of summer.
Her parents will soon start moulting, then they won't be able to feed Tilda at all.
Next door, box 133 is now empty.
Spike's chicks have already grown up and gone to sea.
PENGUIN CALLS The following morning, there's a right old racket at the Penguin Cafe.
It's Spike! Instead of spending the day at sea, or sleeping in his box, he's camping out in the open behind a tree.
Ranger Beau Farnley has been called in to see what all the kerfuffle is about.
We've just got a penguin here that's been acting a bit strange, coming out all day.
We'll just grab him, have a quick look, and see if he's OK.
PENGUIN CALLS ANGRILY But this fella is in no mood to be examined.
I don't think there's anything too wrong with him.
He seems pretty good.
Yeah, he's pretty pretty vigorous! He's had a good nip at me, and he's trying to get away, so All right, all right.
OK, I'll let you go.
All right, I might just put him back, I think.
The feathers on the ground give the game away.
Spike has started moulting, and he couldn't have chosen a more uncomfortable place to do it.
Confined on land, unable to swim or feed, penguins stay tucked out of sight during early autumn.
It's a time when, frankly, they're not looking their best.
I guess some that don't have a good burrow to moult in, they'll get under a tree for three weeks, and try and deal with having to shed all your feathers, and I guess it'd be like losing all your hair once a year, then having to regrow it.
Nothing wrong with Spike.
He just needs some space right now.
Adults returning from the sea are visibly bigger.
They're piling on the fat reserves before they're stuck on land growing their new winter wardrobe.
The moment Tilda hears movement outside the nestbox, she starts her high-pitched squeaking.
PENGUIN SQUEAKS Rocky recognises his chick's unique call.
She's feeding well, and has reached 300 grams, but there's a rush on to fatten her up fast.
Jess has also had a successful day out fishing.
PENGUIN CALLS She calls out to let them know she's on her way with seconds.
Rocky leaves Tilda to her mum.
Rocky's beginning to scratch more than usual.
He too is about to undergo an unstoppable transformation.
Normally, he can recondition his feathers with a liquid wax secreted from a preen gland near his tail.
But this is different.
His old feathers will soon start to fall out, and then he'll be housebound.
Time's running out for Jess too.
When her hormones tell her it's time to shed feathers, they'll also tell her to stop feeding her own chick.
For little Tilda, one thing is certain.
If her parents abandon her now, she has no hope of surviving.
After weeks of high-protein diet, and the full spa treatment, the gannet is now a robust three kilos, and more than ready to learn to fish for himself.
He's been absolutely insanely chasing the penguins around the pool every feed.
He's actually being a bit mean cos the chicks don't know to get away from him, so he's pecking them, which isn't a nice thing.
Admittedly, very gently pecking.
He's not breaking skin, which he would with me.
So he's just playing, but he's sort of fractious and energetic.
It's time to let the gannet go.
Look, he's a really good weight, he's been doing all the right things water-wise, and there's just no point in keeping a healthy gannet.
Sorry, darling.
You're a bit over me, aren't you? Come on.
Oh, don't do that.
There's a boy! One final indignity, a trip to the beach in a plastic box that smells of penguins! Marg tries to make it as quick and painless as she can.
Four months old, it's this young gannet's first chance to fly.
Don't go that way.
Oh, that was a bit silly.
I wanted him to go out in the ocean, so he could actually fly off the water, rather than have to walk.
What are you doing? You go back that way.
Go on.
It's not looking good.
Will Marg's pre-flight training pay off? Go on.
Off you go.
At last, he works out what those big wings are for.
Then, there's no going back.
Bye.
Next week, in the final episode, work begins to remove all remaining houses from the colony.
No more holidays among the penguins, and after the toughest ever season on the island, little Tilda must choose.
Wait for her parents to return, or brave it alone out in the great Southern Ocean? E- mail subtitling@bbc.
co.
uk