Young Emperor penguins, remarkable animals that are the only large, non-flying inhabitant of Antarctica, enjoy five years of relatively carefree life in the south polar seas. At age 5, they somehow know they must begin a perilous 70 mile walk through Antarctic winter to a relatively safe place, where the ice is thick enough to allow fragile chicks to mature.

The males will go more than 4 months without food, and must protect eggs and chicks from the worst weather this planet has to offer. The females will leave their precious single eggs with the males for two months while they go off in search of food (70 miles to the sea, and 70 miles back). Talk about guys who are unafraid of commitment...

The documentary is beautifully photographed: the crew that filmed this endured unbelievable hardships themselves (including walking the 70 mile path behind the penguins, dragging their cameras on human-drawn carts in the near-total darkness of Arctic winter). Highly recommended...
Comments 10:45:14 PM    

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