1. There are few places harder to get to
in this world.Copy !req
2. But there aren't any
where it's harder to live.Copy !req
3. The average temperature here
at the bottom of the Earth...Copy !req
4. is a balmy 58 degrees below.Copy !req
5. That's when the sun is out.Copy !req
6. It wasn't always like this.Copy !req
7. Antarctica used to be a tropical place...Copy !req
8. densely forested and teeming with life.Copy !req
9. But then the continent
started to drift south.Copy !req
10. And by the time it was done drifting...Copy !req
11. the dense forests had all been replaced
with a new ground cover:Copy !req
12. Ice.Copy !req
13. As for the former inhabitants.
they had all died or moved on long ago.Copy !req
14. Well, almost all of them.Copy !req
15. Legend has it that one tribe
stayed behind.Copy !req
16. Perhaps they thought the change
in weather was only temporary.Copy !req
17. Or maybe they were just stubborn.Copy !req
18. But whatever their reasons.
these stalwart souls refused to leave.Copy !req
19. For millions of years
they have made their home...Copy !req
20. on the darkest, driest, windiest
and coldest continent on Earth.Copy !req
21. And they've done so pretty much alone.Copy !req
22. So in some ways
this is a story of survival.Copy !req
23. A tale of life over death.Copy !req
24. But it's more than that, really.Copy !req
25. This is a story about love.Copy !req
26. Like most love stories, it begins
with an act of utter foolishness.Copy !req
27. The emperor penguin
is technically a bird.Copy !req
28. Although one that makes his home
in the sea.Copy !req
29. So if you're wondering
what he's doing up here on the ice...Copy !req
30. well, that's part of our story.Copy !req
31. Each year at around the same time...Copy !req
32. he will leave the comfort
of his ocean home...Copy !req
33. and embark
on a remarkable journey.Copy !req
34. He will travel a great distance...Copy !req
35. and though he is a bird.
he won't fly.Copy !req
36. Though he lives in the sea.
he won't swim.Copy !req
37. Mostly, he will walk.Copy !req
38. But he won't walk alone.Copy !req
39. It is March.
Summer is over.Copy !req
40. And another long polar winter
is about to begin.Copy !req
41. The birds have been feeding
in the ocean waters for three months.Copy !req
42. Now, their bellies full...Copy !req
43. it is time to find a mate.Copy !req
44. Their breeding ground can be
up to 70 miles away.Copy !req
45. To get there they will walk
day and night continuously.Copy !req
46. Sometimes for a week.Copy !req
47. It is a long, dangerous
and seemingly impossible journey.Copy !req
48. And some of them will not survive it.Copy !req
49. Nonetheless, when the last of the clan
has finally clamored onto the ice...Copy !req
50. their long march will begin...Copy !req
51. just as it has for thousands of years.Copy !req
52. The destination is always the same.Copy !req
53. Their path, however, is not.Copy !req
54. The ice on which the birds travel
never stops shifting and changing.Copy !req
55. New roadblocks will appear
to baffle them every year.Copy !req
56. We're not exactly sure
how they find their way.Copy !req
57. Perhaps they were assisted by the sun.Copy !req
58. Or the stars.Copy !req
59. Or maybe having taken this march
for thousands of generations...Copy !req
60. they are guided by some invisible
compass within them.Copy !req
61. They never stay stumped for long.Copy !req
62. Eventually, one of them
will pick up the trail.Copy !req
63. And the journey continues.Copy !req
64. When they get tired of walking.
they'll give their feet a rest.Copy !req
65. They'll use their bellies instead.Copy !req
66. Theirs is usually a graceful parade.Copy !req
67. But not always.Copy !req
68. Each day the temperature drops
a little further.Copy !req
69. And the sun will set earlier.Copy !req
70. The weather becomes noticeably harsher
almost by the hour.Copy !req
71. By now similar caravans are approaching
from every direction.Copy !req
72. And finally, often on the same day...Copy !req
73. even around the same time...Copy !req
74. they will arrive at the place where
each and every one of them was born.Copy !req
75. Here they will mate in relative safety.Copy !req
76. They are now far from the water's edge
where most predators lurk.Copy !req
77. And the large ice walls will offer
some protection from the harshest winds.Copy !req
78. But the real reason
they have chosen this place...Copy !req
79. lies beneath their feet.Copy !req
80. The ice is thicker here.Copy !req
81. It will stay solid until summer...Copy !req
82. keeping their young
from accidentally falling through...Copy !req
83. into the freezing ocean.Copy !req
84. And so, having arrived...Copy !req
85. they begin to pursue
their journey's purpose:Copy !req
86. Finding a mate.Copy !req
87. We don't really know
what they're looking for in a partner.Copy !req
88. We only know that they are.
in fact, looking.Copy !req
89. We also know when they've found
what they're looking for.Copy !req
90. Emperor penguins are monogamous.
Sort of.Copy !req
91. They mate with only one partner
per year.Copy !req
92. Which means every new season.
all bets are off.Copy !req
93. Because there are fewer males
than females here...Copy !req
94. hostilities among the ladies
are inevitable.Copy !req
95. A taken male instantly
becomes an unavailable male.Copy !req
96. So occasionally, a female will attempt
to interrupt a courtship.Copy !req
97. The men don't seem to mind.Copy !req
98. They just wait for the fight to end
and take the opportunity to preen.Copy !req
99. They're not that different from us, really.Copy !req
100. They pout.Copy !req
101. They bellow.Copy !req
102. They strut.Copy !req
103. And occasionally, they will engage
in some contact sports.Copy !req
104. Within a few weeks.
one way or the other...Copy !req
105. most of the animals have found
the one they are looking for.Copy !req
106. For the next eight months...Copy !req
107. these two will participate
in an ancient and complicated affair.Copy !req
108. There will be tenderness.Copy !req
109. There will be separation.Copy !req
110. There will be reunion.Copy !req
111. And if their partnership is successful.
there will be new life.Copy !req
112. For now, they wait...Copy !req
113. for the egg and for the brutal winter...Copy !req
114. which will do everything in its power
to destroy that egg.Copy !req
115. By May the light will nearly
have disappeared from the sky...Copy !req
116. and the temperature
continues to drop.Copy !req
117. And for those who began
their march too late...Copy !req
118. or have fallen behind
because of weakness or hunger...Copy !req
119. hope of survival is now remote.Copy !req
120. The lone penguin has no chance
against the winter's cold.Copy !req
121. He will simply fade away...Copy !req
122. absorbed by the great whiteness
all around him.Copy !req
123. As winter descends...Copy !req
124. the tribe's only defense
against the freezing cold...Copy !req
125. is the group itself.Copy !req
126. It is almost as if they create
another organism altogether.Copy !req
127. The huddled animals form
a single moving mass...Copy !req
128. one designed for the sole purpose
of sustaining warmth.Copy !req
129. Winter's first storm is upon them.Copy !req
130. Within a few weeks, days begin to pass
with virtually no light at all.Copy !req
131. Moons come and go
in the soon-to-be-endless night.Copy !req
132. And finally, one day in early June...Copy !req
133. we remember why they came here.Copy !req
134. As soon as the egg appears.
it is instantly hidden from the cold.Copy !req
135. The tiny beating heart
within the shell cannot survive...Copy !req
136. much more than a moment's exposure
to the freezing air.Copy !req
137. From now on, the couple has
but a single goal:Copy !req
138. Keeping their egg alive.Copy !req
139. The hungry mother must return at once
to the sea to eat.Copy !req
140. But before she leaves.
she must entrust the egg to its father.Copy !req
141. Some, young couples, perhaps.
are too impulsive or rushed.Copy !req
142. And within moments.
their affair comes to an end.Copy !req
143. They can only watch...Copy !req
144. as the ice claims their egg...Copy !req
145. and the life within it.Copy !req
146. This couple's partnership is now over.Copy !req
147. The long march in vain.Copy !req
148. With no reason to stay...Copy !req
149. they will wander back to the sea.Copy !req
150. Other couples have lost their egg as well.Copy !req
151. As for the others...Copy !req
152. their partnership is about to change.Copy !req
153. With unending patience...Copy !req
154. the pair rehearses the steps
they will need to transfer the egg...Copy !req
155. from the mother to the father.Copy !req
156. They practice this clumsy ballet
dozens of times if need be.Copy !req
157. And then, with great care...Copy !req
158. they will dance it.Copy !req
159. And now begins one of nature's
most incredible...Copy !req
160. and endearing role reversals.Copy !req
161. It is the penguin male
who will tend the couple's single egg.Copy !req
162. While the mother feeds and gathers food
to bring back for the newborn...Copy !req
163. it is the father who will shield the egg
from the violent winds and cold.Copy !req
164. He will make a nest for the egg
atop his own claws...Copy !req
165. keeping it safe and warm
beneath a flap of skin on his belly.Copy !req
166. And he will do this
for more than two months.Copy !req
167. Having passed the egg...Copy !req
168. the exhausted female
must depart quickly.Copy !req
169. She must eat soon or she will die.Copy !req
170. As the winter progresses...Copy !req
171. the father will be severely tested.Copy !req
172. The mother will be tested as well.Copy !req
173. Her return trip to the sea
is considerably more difficult...Copy !req
174. than the original march
to the nesting ground.Copy !req
175. It is colder now.Copy !req
176. And she will have lost almost a third
of her body weight producing the egg.Copy !req
177. She is literally starving.Copy !req
178. Of course, the fathers
are nearly starving too.Copy !req
179. But for them, a meal is far off
in the distance.Copy !req
180. By the time their vigil
atop the egg is over...Copy !req
181. the penguin fathers will have gone
without food of any kind...Copy !req
182. for over 125 days.Copy !req
183. And they will have endured
one of the most violent...Copy !req
184. and deadly winters on Earth.Copy !req
185. All for the chick.Copy !req
186. As the fathers settle into their long wait
at the breeding ground...Copy !req
187. the winter's second storm arrives.Copy !req
188. The temperature is now 80 degrees
below zero.Copy !req
189. That's without taking into account
the wind...Copy !req
190. which can blow 100 miles an hour.Copy !req
191. Though they can be aggressive
during the rest of the year...Copy !req
192. at this time
the males are totally docile.Copy !req
193. A united and cooperative team...Copy !req
194. they brace against the storm by merging
their thousand bodies into a single mass.Copy !req
195. They will take turns...Copy !req
196. each of them getting to spend some
time near the center of their huddle...Copy !req
197. where it's warmer.Copy !req
198. As they move about...Copy !req
199. the fathers will balance their eggs
like tightrope walkers.Copy !req
200. The exhausted mothers
have marched 70 miles.Copy !req
201. They are now back
where they started three months ago.Copy !req
202. But they aren't anywhere near
the water's edge.Copy !req
203. New ice is formed along the shore...Copy !req
204. forcing them to walk several more miles
before they reach the sea.Copy !req
205. Food is actually
only a few inches below them.Copy !req
206. But they have no way
of getting to it here.Copy !req
207. To survive they must reach
the new ice edge...Copy !req
208. or find some other opening.Copy !req
209. Sometimes this search will last for days.Copy !req
210. Naturally, after their long walk.
they are eager to get back in the water.Copy !req
211. Sometimes a little too eager.Copy !req
212. They can hold their breath
for over 15 minutes...Copy !req
213. and dive to a depth of 1700 feet...Copy !req
214. approaching the sea floor itself
to feed on fish, krill and squid.Copy !req
215. They will also skim along the ice
just below the ocean's surface...Copy !req
216. searching for any fish
that may have lodged there.Copy !req
217. While the mothers finally
fill their empty bellies...Copy !req
218. the fathers cling to life
on the surface...Copy !req
219. trying to keep the eggs
safe and warm.Copy !req
220. The wind will occasionally bring snow
to quench the males' thirst.Copy !req
221. They have been without food now
for over three months.Copy !req
222. Each day brings them closer
to exhaustion and starvation.Copy !req
223. Eventually some.
usually the older ones...Copy !req
224. will simply fall asleep...Copy !req
225. and disappear.Copy !req
226. Now it is dark almost all the time.Copy !req
227. And the mother of all blizzards
is about to arrive.Copy !req
228. The fathers now make an extra effort...Copy !req
229. to weld their bodies together
and resist the winter's rage.Copy !req
230. Above them, the southern lights
dance virtually around the clock.Copy !req
231. For now there is almost only night.Copy !req
232. The hungry mothers aren't the only ones
overjoyed by their return to the sea.Copy !req
233. Their predators, unfortunately.
are happy to have them back as well.Copy !req
234. With a snap of its jaws...Copy !req
235. the leopard seal
actually takes two lives.Copy !req
236. That of the trapped mother...Copy !req
237. and that of her unborn chick
who will never be fed.Copy !req
238. By July the females know
it is time to return to their nest.Copy !req
239. And so, for the third time this year.
the mothers take the long walk.Copy !req
240. Only this time...Copy !req
241. they walk in the dark.Copy !req
242. The ravenous and freezing night lingers...Copy !req
243. seemingly without end.Copy !req
244. Until finally...Copy !req
245. the darkness begins
its slow retreat.Copy !req
246. After many months, light returns
in earnest to the South Pole.Copy !req
247. But only momentarily.Copy !req
248. And yet...Copy !req
249. it is enough.Copy !req
250. Their victory over winter has begun.Copy !req
251. Their efforts have not been in vain.Copy !req
252. Though the light is returning...Copy !req
253. the winter is far from over.Copy !req
254. The worst is, actually, yet to come.Copy !req
255. No matter how cold it is.
or how hungry they are...Copy !req
256. the fathers must keep moving.Copy !req
257. If they don't, they will die.Copy !req
258. But then...Copy !req
259. Each day more eggs will hatch.Copy !req
260. But this chick is hungry.Copy !req
261. He needs the food
in his mother's belly.Copy !req
262. But his father is hungry too.Copy !req
263. He hasn't eaten
in nearly four months now.Copy !req
264. If his mate doesn't arrive soon.
he will be forced to abandon his child...Copy !req
265. and return to the sea
to feed himself.Copy !req
266. He will have no choice.Copy !req
267. But there is one secret weapon
against his newborn's hunger.Copy !req
268. The father coughs up a milky substance.Copy !req
269. Despite his own hunger.
this tiny meal has been relegated...Copy !req
270. to a small crease in his throat...Copy !req
271. just for this moment.Copy !req
272. This little banquet will keep the chick
alive for a day, perhaps two.Copy !req
273. Hopefully, long enough
for the mother to arrive.Copy !req
274. For some it is already too late.Copy !req
275. The mothers step up their rhythm...Copy !req
276. as if sensing the urgency.Copy !req
277. They shuffle along
as quickly as possible...Copy !req
278. hauling their overstuffed bellies
one last mile.Copy !req
279. And then, at last, they are back.Copy !req
280. To find each other
in the enormous crowd...Copy !req
281. the penguins must rely
on sound, not sight.Copy !req
282. As they circle.
the returning mothers trumpet loudly...Copy !req
283. and wait for their mates
to call back.Copy !req
284. The sound is deafening.Copy !req
285. And yet, somehow, each of them
will hear their mate's song.Copy !req
286. The couple has found one another.Copy !req
287. The mother sees her chick
for the first time.Copy !req
288. And at last...Copy !req
289. the family is together.Copy !req
290. And just as they did with the egg...Copy !req
291. the parents now quickly pass off
the newborn from one to the other.Copy !req
292. Now it is the mother's turn to protect
her chick from the fierce cold.Copy !req
293. The father and his chick
sing to one another...Copy !req
294. making sure
each knows the other's voice.Copy !req
295. It is the only way the two will find
each other when the father returns.Copy !req
296. As the chick enjoys his first real meal...Copy !req
297. the father prepares to sever
the bond between them.Copy !req
298. It's not easy to do.Copy !req
299. The fathers have gone without food
for over four months.Copy !req
300. They will have lost
as much as half their weight.Copy !req
301. But still they must walk...Copy !req
302. for over 70 miles.Copy !req
303. This leg of the journey may be why
they are fewer males than females.Copy !req
304. Each year some of these new fathers
will not make it back to the sea.Copy !req
305. Like the sun, the chicks
grow stronger every day.Copy !req
306. But they are not yet ready
to leave their mothers.Copy !req
307. In time, after being perched atop their
mother's feet for a thousand paces...Copy !req
308. like a child learning to dance
on her mother's shoes...Copy !req
309. the chick takes
his first steps alone.Copy !req
310. With the wind's return...Copy !req
311. the temperature drops.Copy !req
312. This year, winter's going out
with a bang.Copy !req
313. This is the first storm
for the new chicks...Copy !req
314. and many of them will not survive it.Copy !req
315. When the winds stop...Copy !req
316. the search for lost chicks begins.Copy !req
317. Some have kept warm
by huddling together.Copy !req
318. Others have not been so lucky.Copy !req
319. The loss is unbearable.Copy !req
320. Every year some bereft mother
will respond to her agony...Copy !req
321. in an unimaginable way.Copy !req
322. Having lost her own chick...Copy !req
323. she will attempt to steal another's.Copy !req
324. But the group will not allow it.Copy !req
325. Back in its mother's care.
the chick is not eager to leave again.Copy !req
326. Despite having known
each other only a few days...Copy !req
327. the bond between mother
and child is surprisingly strong.Copy !req
328. In the next few weeks...Copy !req
329. it will only grow stronger.Copy !req
330. Winter's grip slowly weakens...Copy !req
331. and the chicks begin to run free.Copy !req
332. Some need a little encouragement.Copy !req
333. But eventually...Copy !req
334. they all find their way.Copy !req
335. Winter may have ended...Copy !req
336. but the dangers have not.Copy !req
337. It is late August now.Copy !req
338. And time for the mothers
to return and feed once more.Copy !req
339. For some...Copy !req
340. this development is unacceptable.Copy !req
341. But it is also non-negotiable.Copy !req
342. Because they are old enough now...Copy !req
343. the chicks are left alone
for the first time.Copy !req
344. As spring arrives...Copy !req
345. the ice packs near the ocean's edge
begin to melt...Copy !req
346. shortening the distance between
the sea and the breeding ground.Copy !req
347. It isn't long before the fathers return...Copy !req
348. their bellies heavy with food.Copy !req
349. The chicks will gather at once
to meet them...Copy !req
350. and sound their calls.Copy !req
351. The returning fathers will circle
the excited newborns and listen...Copy !req
352. until he hears his chick's call.Copy !req
353. Some will never find their chick.Copy !req
354. The newborn will have died...Copy !req
355. from cold or hunger...Copy !req
356. or at the hands of some predator.Copy !req
357. But for those
that do find their young...Copy !req
358. the reunion is a joyful one.Copy !req
359. And, very quickly, the young chick's belly
will be full again.Copy !req
360. For the next several months.
the parents will take turns...Copy !req
361. shuttling back and forth
to the sea for food.Copy !req
362. And occasionally...Copy !req
363. the new family can actually
spend some time together.Copy !req
364. By September the ice has begun
to thin and crack.Copy !req
365. The sea gets closer, allowing the parents
to go back and forth more frequently.Copy !req
366. The chicks' new coat of feathers
is now thick and full...Copy !req
367. enough to protect them on their own.Copy !req
368. And by November the ocean is within
a few hundred yards...Copy !req
369. of the breeding ground.Copy !req
370. As the ice melts...Copy !req
371. the brand-new family prepares
to go their separate ways.Copy !req
372. The couples, locked for
the past nine months...Copy !req
373. in their ancient ritual
of coming and going...Copy !req
374. will now part for the last time.Copy !req
375. And as their newest members look on...Copy !req
376. the tribe returns to their home, at last.Copy !req
377. For the next three months...Copy !req
378. they will lavish in the rich and warmish
waters of their short summer.Copy !req
379. They will feed...Copy !req
380. and they will play.Copy !req
381. And in all likelihood...Copy !req
382. their chicks
will never see them again.Copy !req
383. They will remain here alone and
unsupervised for a few more weeks...Copy !req
384. growing stronger.Copy !req
385. The ice continues to melt...Copy !req
386. returning the borrowed water
to the sea.Copy !req
387. And beckoning the young penguins...Copy !req
388. into the ocean as well.Copy !req
389. It is now December...Copy !req
390. and they are ready to leave the place
where they were born.Copy !req
391. And although they have
never known the ocean...Copy !req
392. nor touched it...Copy !req
393. they, like their parents...Copy !req
394. are of the sea.Copy !req
395. And so one day...Copy !req
396. they'll take the plunge...Copy !req
397. and go home for the first time.Copy !req
398. For four years.
the chicks will live at sea.Copy !req
399. But as the sunlight begins to disappear
at the end of their fifth year...Copy !req
400. and the warm days begin to cool...Copy !req
401. they, too, will climb out of the water.Copy !req
402. And they will march...Copy !req
403. just as they have done for centuries...Copy !req
404. ever since the emperor penguin
decided to stay...Copy !req
405. to live and love...Copy !req
406. in the harshest place on Earth.Copy !req