BBC penguin crew ‘right’ to save birds

The BBC has defended a camera crew that saved penguins freezing to death in the Antarctic ice. The crew for Dynasties, the new BBC One series narrated by Sir David Attenborough, were right to make an exception to their usual “no intervention” rule, the head of the Natural History Unit said.

THE BBC’S Natural History Unit has defended a camera crew that broke the golden rule of wildlife film-making by saving penguins from freezing to death with their chicks.

A crew based in the Antarctic for Dynasties, the new BBC One series narrated by Sir David Attenborough, found the birds trapped in a gully as a storm raged around them.

After being moved to tears by the plight of one chick that died as it tried to get out of the ravine, the team dug a ramp in the snow that allowed the surviving penguins to walk to safety.

Sir David has previously said: “If you’re a cameraman, you are ... a nonparticipant. That’s very important.”

However, Mike Gunton, head of the Natural History Unit, said there were “always exceptions” to the rule. “No hands were laid on these animals. All they did was make cuts in the ice.”

Alastair Fothergill, who is now making Our Planet with Sir David for Netflix, said: “The rule is: don’t interfere. The situation with the penguins is pretty unique and almost the exception that proves the rule.”