Rare Flying Penguins Discovered
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This recently discovered rare colony of Adélie penguins on King George Island is unlike any other. They don’t need to huddle together in winter for protection against the cold, as these little fellas can do something no other penguins can — fly.
And how do they use this incredible ability? They fly thousands of miles to the Amazonian rain forests of South America where they spend their winters in the tropical sun.
Former Monty Python star Terry Jones hosts the new BBC program “Miracles of Evolution,” which revealed their remarkable footage of flying penguins as part of their new natural history series.
Photo Telegraph
Photo Telegraph
BBC camera crews discovered the colony of penguins while filming on King George Island, about 750 miles (1200 kilometers) south of the Falkland Islands.
“We’d been watching the penguins and filming them for days, without a hint of what was to come.” said Terry Jones. “But then the weather took a turn for the worse. It was quite amazing. Rather than getting together in a huddle to protect themselves from the cold, they did something quite unexpected, that no other penguins can do.”
“The film reveals nature’s stunning glory in exciting and unexpected ways, so much so that it defies belief.”
“Not only does it create a vivid and emotional experience for the viewer, it also illustrates just how bold and simple Darwin’s idea of natural selection was.” Jones added.
The incredible footage shows the birds zooming across the sea, skimming merely feet above the waves, hunting for food.
These amazing creatures launch themselves down steep icy slopes to get the momentum to take flight, and flap their tiny wings to reach a steady cruising speed.
“We could hardly believe our eyes. It was amazing.” said film maker Prof Alid Loyas.
Fact or April Fools’ Prank
While it may be difficult to believe anything in the media on April Fool’s day, if this is one such case, it has been brilliantly devised, coordinated and executed. It would require unusual 3-way collaboration between 2 rival papers and the BBC.
Both the Daily Mirror and the Daily Telegraph report on the BBC nature documentary, and both show a 90-second BBC trailer featuring Monty Python’s Terry Jones on their websites, seemingly on location in the Antarctic.
The film was put together in an incredibly professional manner, complete with an iPlayer plug at the end.
Not only did this possibly clever spoof require the collaboration between the 2 rivals and BBC, but Brand Republic announced the BBC’s iPlayer campaign today, touching on the staggering flying penguin footage, stating, “The centerpiece of the campaign is a 90-second ad that shows a recently discovered colony of penguins flying to South America every winter, where they spend the chillier months basking in the tropical sun.”
So does the adage ‘Believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see’ ring true in this case? You be the judge and witness for yourself in the following original BBC footage. An identical copy was found on YouTube and published here rather than the Telegraph’s, should their video be taken down, which we have saved on file should need be.
Flying Penguins on BBC Documentary
BBC Breakfast on Flying Penguins
Sources: Telegraph, Mirror and Brand Republic
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Cool! Flying Penguins! When were these discovered? Where do they live?
This was one of the AFJ I read about.
My friend linked me this video and I thought something was going to happen either to the narrator or the penguins. And then when I saw them start to fly, I thought ‘no way..’ It was such an elaborate April Fools joke..
They were allegedly discovered on on King George Island, Rich, but I’m pretty certain it was a hoax, albeit a very well done one.
You did find it to be one for certain Jenny? I didn’t find any updates on their sites, and nothing came up in searches other than the articles.
Elaborate, and incredibly well executed, Trail
Wasn’t this an elaborate hoax ? I love BBC’s sense of humor
Yes, Miami, I think this is one of the best hoaxes I’ve ever seen
And I was just getting ready to comment on the fact that flying penguins would make a great homeschool curriculum topic,
Well it would if they weren’t fictitious
But then again, it might even though they aren’t, hehe.
this better be real dudes
Actually, Noob, it turned out to be an elaborately and I must say spectacularly done hoax
…..I DID A PROJECT ON THIS