Dramatic Penguin secrets revealed

In Secrets of the Penguins, hundreds of emperor penguin chicks leap from a 50-foot cliff into the icy ocean below –emerging unscathed. This moment, posted on YouTube last year, is one of several unseen behaviours featured in the new documentary.

The three-part series is streaming from 22 April on National Geographic Wild (DStv 182, StarSat 221). All episodes are streaming from 21 April on Disney+ in SA.

The team, led by Bertie Gregory and more than 70 scientists and filmmakers, embarked on a two-year journey to document previously unseen penguin behaviours. The expedition spanned the rocky beaches of Cape Town, the icy shores of South Georgia Island, the tropical Galapagos, and the desert caves of Namibia.

Moments captured include a bonded pair of emperors practicing egg transfers with a snowball to hone their skills ahead of transferring a real egg, tenacious chicks navigating brash ice amid climate change, and young penguins using their beaks to hoist themselves out of a crevasse.

For the first time, healthy rockaroni chicks – a rare hybrid of rockhopper and macaroni penguins – are documented, offering a fascinating glimpse into potential evolution and adaptation. Other moments include a brave rockhopper fending off a southern sea lion, the first footage of a hidden cave colony of African penguins, and clever Galapagos penguins teaming up for a daring heist: stealing fish from pelican beaks and skilfully herding sardine bait balls.

The episodes include:

• Heart of the Emperors: The emperors are the largest and strongest penguins, living in the coldest and most extreme environment on Earth. Embedded with an Antarctic colony, Gregory encounters social skills never filmed before, discovering that bonds forged from birth between family, friends and strangers are the difference between life and death.
• Survival of the Smartest: Millions of years ago, a group of penguins left the ice, riding powerful currents and arriving in strange new lands. They reshaped traditions for deserts and tropics – and even to live among humans. Tested to the extreme, they became perhaps the smartest of all penguins. Gregory discovers the penguins’ problem-solving, “talking” and enduring search for new worlds.
• Rebels with a Cause: It takes a special type of courageous penguin to survive the fierce Southern Ocean, but 40-million crowd its isolated, rocky outposts, and they are some of the most successful penguins on Earth. Gregory follows the rockhoppers, gentoos and macaronis to discover a world of risk-takers, rebels and unconventional parents.

Secrets of the Penguins is produced by Talesmith for National Geographic. Emmy Award-winners James Cameron and Maria Wilhelm for Lightstorm Earth are executive producers. BAFTA and Emmy Award-winner Gregory serves as lead storyteller, cinematographer and producer. It is narrated by Blake Lively (Another Simple Favor).

The series taps into the passion and expertise of scientists and conservationists, including: National Geographic explorer and marine biologist Dr Pablo Borboroglu, conservation biologist Dr Michelle LaRue, African penguin expert Dr Andrea Thiebault, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Dr Gustavo Jiménez Uzcátegui, penguin expert Dr Jessica Kemper, and marine biologist Dr Katta Ludynia.

The Emmy and BAFTA-winning executive producers are Ruth Roberts and Martin Williams. Serena Davies serves as series producer, with Pam Caragol as executive producer.

Previous “Secrets of” seasons include Secrets of the Octopus, narrated by Paul Rudd; Secrets of the Elephants, narrated by Natalie Portman; and Emmy-winning Secrets of the Whales, narrated by Sigourney Weaver. All instalments are streaming on Disney+.