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S25 Ep2

Penguins of the Antarctic

Premiere: 11/12/2006

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.

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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.

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PRODUCTION CREDITS

Television Credits

PENGUINS OF THE ANTARCTIC

Narrated By
WILL PATTON

Producers
MARK FLETCHER
ROGER WEBB

Photography
JOHN & MARY-LOU AITCHISON
DOUG ALLAN
STEPHEN DE VERE
SIMON KING
HUGH MAYNARD
MICHAEL W. RICHARDS

Edited By
MARK FLETCHER

Music By
JENNIE MUSKETT

Dubbing Editor
TIM OWENS

Dubbing Mixer
BEN PEACE

Writer
DAVID HELTON

Production Coordinator
ALISON SUKER

Production Manager
SALLY MARK

The BBC Wishes to Thank
BRITISH ANTARCTIC SURVEY
MICHAEL P. MEREDITH
RICHARD PHILLIPS
DOMINIC HODGSON
JOHN CROXALL
PHIL TRATHAN
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
HT HARVEY & ASSOCIATES
DAVID AINLEY
BEN OSBORNE

Series Editor
TIM MARTIN

© 2006 BBC All Rights Reserved


For NATURE

Series Editor
JANET HESS

Supervising Producer
JANICE YOUNG

Senior Producer
LAURA METZGER

Producer
JILL CLARKE

Associate Producer
IRENE TEJARATCHI

Production Assistant
RACHAEL TEEL

Manager
EILEEN FRAHER

Production Manager
JULIE SCHAPIRO THORMAN

Online Editor
BRUNO PELLEGRINI

Sound Mixer
ED CAMPBELL

Series Producer
BILL MURPHY

Executive In Charge
WILLIAM GRANT

Executive Producer
FRED KAUFMAN

A co-production of Thirteen/WNET New York and BBC

This program was produced by Thirteen/WNET New York, which is solely responsible for its content.

© 2006 Educational Broadcasting Corporation
Web Credits

Director of Production
DANIEL B. GREENBERG

Producer
TANNER VEA

Production Assistant
DANIEL ROSS

Writer
JOHN UHL

Designer
MICHAEL DIMAURO

Creative Director
NICK MILLER

Pagebuilding
BRIAN SANTALONE

Technical Director
BRIAN LEE

Photos for “Overview,” “For Educators,” and “Resources” © Ben Osborne. Photo for “Climate Change in the Antarctic” © Corel. Photo for “Krill: Cornerstone of the Antarctic” © MAR-ECO/Øystein Paulsen. Other images from “Penguins of the Antarctic.”

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