A new National Geographic docuseries has provided an unprecedented look into the complex lives of penguins, revealing their world really isn’t as black and white as one might think.
Hosted by Emmy Award-winning wildlife filmmaker Bertie Gregory and narrated by actress Blake Lively, the series takes viewers to the ends of the Earth to witness fascinating penguin behaviors never before captured on film.
“There were so many moments that stood out—behaviors that were rumored but none of us had ever seen before, let alone filmed,” the British cinematographer told The Epoch Times.
“The ones that stick out are a rockhopper penguin fighting off a sea lion something like 70 times its size, African penguins inside a cave in the Namib Desert, and rockaroni—from a macaroni penguin dad and a rockhopper penguin mom—chicks on camera for the first time.”
However, Gregory said the biggest moment he helped capture on film was the jaw-dropping dive a group of emperor penguin chicks took while base-jumping off a 50-foot cliff.
“I’d heard that they did this, but it had never been filmed before,” he said. “Through teamwork, new tech, hard graft, and a big dollop of luck, we somehow pulled it off. It was unreal.”
Gregory and his team of more than 70 scientists and other filmmakers spent over two years documenting the various species of penguins in some of the most extreme environments.
The crew’s travels included the rocky beaches of Cape Town, the desert caves of Namibia in South Africa, the icy shores of the Atlantic’s South Georgia Island, and the tropical Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean.
They even endured subzero temperatures in Antarctica’s Ekstrom Ice Shelf, which is home to a colony of 20,000 emperor penguins, the largest of all the penguin species.
“We essentially lived with the penguins for months, and one team—Pete McCowen, Helen Hobin, and Alex Ponniah—were based in Antarctica for nine months,” Gregory said.
“So they literally couldn’t see their family or friends that whole time. They sacrificed a lot to be able to film some of the moments viewers will see in the first episode, ‘Heart of the Emperors.’”
Gregory spent two and a half months on the ice shelf, camping a mile away from the penguin colony, to film the beginning and end of that episode.
“All day and all night we could hear and see the squawking,” the filmmaker said. “During a big storm, five of eight tents ripped and filled up completely with snow—a suboptimal experience that required a lot of digging.”
Among the many incredible behaviors the researchers observed while filming the docuseries, which was executive produced by James Cameron, were the striking similarities the marine birds had with humans.
“Penguins are much more like us than you would think. Many mate for life, return to the same nest year on year, and they form tight social bonds with others around them—not just between the adult pairs but also form ‘friendships’ between unrelated penguins,” Gregory said.
“My camera colleagues Pete and Helen filmed a magical moment when two penguin parents introduced their chicks to each other. It’s just like what people do—we socialize, and to see the chicks mirroring each other’s behaviour was incredible.”
Gregory, who has previously filmed penguins for past projects, said his experience working on “Secrets of the Penguins” greatly deepened his admiration for the stocky seabirds.
“I’ve always had a profound respect for the natural world, but working on this project has given me a deeper appreciation of just how resilient penguins are,” he said.
“Some are up against monumental changes—not just their environment, but also what they eat and how they navigate the world. Despite all of the changes, they keep going. They’re truly remarkable creatures.”
Gregory said he hoped viewers would have a similar takeaway after seeing the docuseries.
“I hope after watching ‘Secrets of the Penguins,’ viewers will walk away not only appreciating their adorable characteristics, but will also have a greater interest in protecting them and their habitats,” he said.
“What I found very moving is that most emperor penguins will go their entire lives without ever seeing a human. They’ll never meet the cause of their greatest threat. It’s a powerful reminder that our actions impact lives we’ll never encounter—and with that comes a real responsibility.”
