Emperor penguin's lives depend on how quickly they adapt. Within 4 months of their birth, chicks must be ready to swim and must increase their body weight by 70 times in the first 150 days of life in order to survive. | National Geographic TV

In a rare break from documentary tradition, a BBC film crew in Antarctica chose compassion over protocol when several Emperor penguin mothers and their chicks became trapped in a ravine — unable to climb out to rejoin their colony. During an episode of Dynasties, viewers watched as exhausted penguins struggled up icy slopes, some chicks succumbing to brutal subzero temperatures that plunged to –76°F. When the crew returned after a storm, they made an unusual choice: to quietly help. Using shovel