Penguins of the Antarctic
Introduction

NATURE braves the extreme conditions of Earth’s southernmost continent for a close-up look at the varied Penguins of the Antarctic.

As night falls in Antarctica, biting winds cast horizontal snow across the dark backs of a mass of huddled emperor penguins. The temperature is 50 below zero, the gales are 90 miles per hour, and the sun won’t rise again for more than two months. NATURE captures these amazing — and well-dressed — flightless birds shivering on the ice as well as gliding through their most comfortable element, the water — a balmy bath compared to the air temperature above — where the emperors can hold their breath up to 20 minutes and dive a mile deep. Meanwhile, on the shores of Zavodovski Island, an active volcano, two million chinstrap penguins breed and travel on their own “superhighway” between the sea and their colonies on higher ground — taking care to evade the occasional 12-foot long leopard seal, which can consume six penguins in an hour.

Emperors and kings, chinstraps and Adélies — NATURE follows the penguins’ difficult journey through the cycle of seasons and explores how a changing climate is affecting their habitat and survival.

Online, our interactive penguin map will take you around the Antarctic region for a closer look at six penguin species and their habitats. An essay will help reveal why krill is both the penguins’ favorite food, and the foundation of the Antarctic ecosystem. Also, read more about the issues related to climate change and its potential impact on Antarctica. Finally, watch our penguin Photo Essay, and then test your understanding of the penguin’s cold-weather adaptations in the Penguin Secrets of Survival Challenge. Buy the DVD. Online content for Penguins of the Antarctic was originally posted November 2006.

47 Responses to “Introduction”
  1. Alecia says:

    where is all the games???!!!

  2. lenny the polar bear says:

    feed me some penguins!

  3. LAFONDA says:

    I HATE THIS!

  4. Bob says:

    This is so stupid!!!

  5. Bob says:

    Omg play o\some stuff like runescape

  6. *penguinluv* says:

    i lov penguins

  7. gabby says:

    penguins are so cute

  8. Maggie says:

    Penguins are so cute and need our help.

  9. Lily says:

    I saw the ice broke in half and created a big gap in the ice. Could those scientists rescue those penguins that were trapped in the big gap of ice? If not, why?

  10. hd says:

    I love penguins. I Love it.

  11. Holli says:

    I love watching stuff like this!

  12. Delly says:

    I would love to watch this full episode.

  13. jaymeejo says:

    i love penguins so i would love to see the video thing!!! penguins rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  14. heliegannorage says:

    candycane.

  15. Liz says:

    Penguins are so adorable! I love penguins and they do need our help and so do Polar Bears!!! So stop acting like jerks and help the Antarctic animals!

  16. jmeyer says:

    If u r so worried,then turn down your heat and ride your bicycle or walk to create less greenhouse gas

  17. Pengu polar bear says:

    I LOVE POLAR BEARS AND PENGUINS! I have tips

    Tips:

    save the artic by using more cold water so the artic can get more iceberks and SURVIVE! I AM DOING THIS SO WHY WON’T YOU! I LOVE PENGUINS AND POLAR BEARS AND WHALES AND SEALS AND WHATEVER IS IN THE ARTIC. PLEASE HELP THE ARTIC! THE ICE IS MELTING FASTER EVERY YEAR! IN 2030 THERE WILL BE NO ARTIC WITH NO PENGUINS NO POLAR BEARS AND OTHER ARTIC ANIMALS! HELP!

  18. Pengu polar bear says:

    I LOVE POLAR BEARS AND PENGUINS! I have tips

    Tips:

    save the artic by using more cold water so the artic can get more iceberks and SURVIVE! I AM DOING THIS SO WHY WON’T YOU! I LOVE PENGUINS AND POLAR BEARS AND WHALES AND SEALS AND WHATEVER IS IN THE ARTIC. PLEASE HELP THE ARTIC! THE ICE IS MELTING FASTER EVERY YEAR! IN 2030 THERE WILL BE NO ARTIC WITH NO PENGUINS NO POLAR BEARS AND OTHER ARTIC ANIMALS! HELP!

  19. paul says:

    i love penquins

  20. paul says:

    man made global warming is a lie

  21. Gaia's Eyes says:

    Paul- How about you back up your statement with scientific evidence or don’t you believe in science either? We (humans) ARE affecting this planet! It is a hard reality, I know. Especially for us Americans who must have their “necessities” such as their Hummers, riding mowers, 3200 Sq ft homes, on & on. It is so much easier to live with your head in the sand so you can have all your toys. We have become such a “gotta have it all society” We have lost touch with what is REALLY important in our precious & fragile lives. We NEED to go back to simpler times if we are to continue. Blessings to you & especially your children, if you have any. What we are leaving the next generation is criminal! I have no children but pray for the next generation(s). Peace to you and to all reading this.

  22. sam says:

    Good goin’ Gala Eyes :-)

  23. Howard says:

    This program is persuasive in illuminating the evidence and impacts of global warming. There’s little sense in wasting time with people who believe only what they want to believe and will dogmatically refuse to believe in global warming until the rising ocean laps around their feet. Let’s concentrate on persuading people who take science seriously and will help turn around civilization’s most urgent threat.

  24. COOL says:

    This is so stupid why cant you guys write convinsing stuff

  25. Brittney says:

    uh hello guys dolphins are in danger too they are my favorite animal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  26. lauren says:

    why are you talking about dolphins? they are so cooooolllll!!!!!!

  27. lauren says:

    penguins are awsome

  28. jose says says:

    please save the penguins they need your help i love animals please dont trow trash in the streets you people now were it gose that is why they made a trash can please please please help us save the penguins and the other creatures

  29. jose says says:

    please save the penguins they need your help i love animals please dont trow trash in the streets you people now were it gose that is why they made a trash can please please please help us save the penguins and the other creatures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  30. david eberhardt says:

    I love “Nature”- on the Penguins at one point I heard the narrator say “we con’t know where we’re going”. Please tell the narrator and the scriptwriter- we are destroying the planet- present science- not blather- this kind of narration betrays nature.

  31. william h. lawson says:

    Iam enjoy the information about the Pengiuns

  32. ~Peter Mulkinsyn III ~Petravidalesh says:

    Does anyone know where to find good information on p3nguins?

    thanks
    ~Peter Mulkinsyn III
    ~Petravidalesh

  33. Justin says:

    Thats a g00d vide0! S0 C00L!

  34. erererererererrererere says:

    kpu.lipllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll[

  35. justin says:

    yah we da best

  36. eve says:

    Much to be learned from animals. Amazing how attacked penguins that are dying keep on going; they do not just sit down, complain & wait to be rescued. Would like to see educational info on penguins, such as the difference between Emperior & Kings…they look to be the same. Enjoying the program, e

  37. sweetness says:

    these birds are beautiful, what can we do to help?

  38. Sad Sack says:

    I am sad to see the condition of penguins, their little kids and all other animals, birds, plants and poor humans. Powerful, greedy & fanatical people are the evil that need to get extinct. Is there some way nature can do that?

  39. darkknight9 says:

    This is, without doubt, a blight on this wonderful series. Simply put it is a rehash of footage from a much better episode (The World of Penguins) With a much different narrative. Squeezed between the four or five actual useful bits of information on behavior/properties/habits is a long diatribe of ‘Climate Change’. Over 30 times you will hear this phrase, either literally or in the form of the heavy, heavy hand of ‘melting ice’. This isn’t the worst part however. When you bend your tactics to that of the other side you sell yourself out. Telling the audience that:

    “all of these (penguin) chicks might die because of climate change. There’s no way to be sure how many (if any) will die, but it could happen.”

    Honestly? Are you going to allow someone to do a special on intelligent design and defend it with the same faulty logic? “but they could?” Shame on you PBS for allowing the fever of spreading the word interfere with proper science and education. Thankfully the other episodes of this multi DVD pack are excellent and include the REAL penguin Nature episode: “The World of Penguins”.

  40. SHOST says:

    Penguins are soooooooooooo cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!:P <3 (:

  41. robin says:

    They are the wonderful wonder of the nature.

  42. Vampire says:

    This is so inspiring!

  43. Hey can I quote some of the content found in this site if I provide a link back to your site?

  44. Christian says:

    What Is A Rockhopper Penguin

  45. Joss Klevins says:

    OK.. I understand most of what you are saying but it is a lot to digest. I know it will sink in later on. Your writing is concise and to the point. By the way, Penguins of the Antarctic – Introduction | Nature | PBS was a great choice for a title.

  46. camryn says:

    this page is so so cool maybe you should go to MATTAWANSCHOOLS.ORG to find out more. this is how you do it.go to mattawanschools.org,push on later elementary, push media center,go to the left and push the first tab.then go up to catolog,go to the left and there will be a tab called webpath express.push on that and type anything you want in it!

  47. doradztwo prawne says:

    how are you, r egal blog on greasy loss. similar helped. Z pewnością często rozważałeś o tym czego spece z dziedziny prawa spadkowego nie rozdają wiadomości dotyczących takiej tematyki w Sieci Internet. Od teraz nie powinieneś się nad tym zastanawiać. Możemy teraz zareklamować nowy serwis prawniczy, który prowadzony jest przez adwokata od prawa spadkowego. Poprzez czytanie zawartych tu wiadomości oraz szybkie konsultacje ze ekspertem dowiesz się tu masę interesujących treści związanych z zachowkiem.

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