https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p06mvqjc/dynasties-series-1-2-emperor
David Attenborough may be over ninety and have more liver spots than a cartoon leopard, his dynasty extends through British culture, but he’s still king of the jungle when it comes to these types of big budget programmes. David Attenborough’s whispering voice gives that imprint of quality control. Planet Earth. Blue Planet, Blue Peter.
Aye, David, you’re right up there and down there. Remember that bit where a whale mourned the loss of its calf? It led to nationwide campaigns to eradicate plastic. Here in Scotland we had newspaper campaigns calling for the elimination of plastic straws. No mention, of course, of the elimination of plastic water bottles, which with tap water of the same quality is the equivalent of buying sunlight or clean air. Both of these are also on sale. Buy now since its Black Friday, but actually it’s Monday. We’ve moved our days about as a marketing trick.
So last week, Dynasties had David, not an Attenborough, but a chimp, who would know better than to fall for that kind of guff. He was king of the jungle in his wee bit of the world. Happy ending. Then he died.
This week we had Emperor Penguins. There’s that old joke, all Emperor Penguins look the same. They didn’t bother giving them names. What they did (just as expected) was get up close and personal in Ataka Bay, Antartica, where temperatures dipped to below sixty-degree Centigrade.
The camera follows the travails of the Emperor Penguins from courtship ritual, egg laying, to gestation, to a friendly bit of huddling, chick stealing, and death in a ravine. Well, I must admit, they cheated here. Nature may be red in tooth and claw, even in a whiteout, but the production team dug holes in the snow so some Empire Penguins could get out with their chicks and make the long march to the sea.
Two-thirds of those that started out in the journey make it to food and happiness in the freezing cold waters. That’s the good news.
Whisper the bad news David. Those chicks that made it to the sea, when it’s their turn to court and have chicks there’s less ice, less of a season to incubate the egg and more sea. So with global warming Emperor Penguins, like David the chimp, will be one of those species we capture on camera and keep alive in zoos. I’m assuming mankind will still be here, which is also not a given we care to face.
odonnellgrunting 