NatGeo’s ‘Secrets Of’ Captures Ultra Rare Penguin Tradition (VIDEO)
It’s almost Earth Day, and National Geographic is celebrating the wonders of the planet a bit early this year. The network has released a sneak peek at Secrets of the Penguins, its second installment of the Secrets Of series (which follows up on Secrets of the Octopus, premiering April 21), and it’s a rare glimpse at some of the coolest creatures on the globe.
The footage was shot in January 2024 in Atka Bay on the Ekström Ice Shelf in Antarctica by cinematographer Bertie Gregory. It offers a very rare glimpse of the moment when a group of hundreds of emperor penguin chicks dive off of a 50-foot cliff to have their first swim in the icy ocean. This is an annual tradition called fledging, but ordinarily, the jump is just a foot or two deep.
With these particular penguins, their parents decided to breed on permanent ice shelves that are much higher up, and this is the very first time their deep dive has been caught on camera.
In the video, it’s clear that the penguins in the front of the bunch have some reservations about making such a giant leap, but once one scuttles down, tests the water, and swims off unscathed, the rest steadily follow suit.
Gregory, who also narrates the sequence, is simply stunned by what he’s witnessed: “Those first brave jumpers seem to give the rest the confidence to follow. Some of them are even trying to flap their wings!” he says in the footage. “I had no idea that the chicks would be able to make such a giant leap and not just survive, but happily swim off together to the Southern Ocean… How’s that for your first swimming lesson?”
According to a press release from NatGeo, Gregory and the production team lived in a tent camp in the -5° region for nine weeks to capture these amazing shots with the help of drone technology.
Secrets of the Penguin will premiere near Earth Day 2025 on the network. NatGeo also has an “ourHOME” collection on Disney+ for Earth Month this year.
Secrets of the Octopus, April 21, NatGeo
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services