The BBC crew opted to intervene passively to help the penguins left stranded in an icy ravine. Photo / BBC
The BBC crew opted to intervene passively to help the penguins left stranded in an icy ravine. Photo / BBC
Viewers have heaped praise on BBC film crew after they intervened when a colony of emperor penguins were left stranded in an icy ravine in a blizzard on the second episode of Dynasties.
The wildlife series currently airing in the United Kingdom, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, followed the birds as they battled a harsh winter in Antarctica's Atka Bay.
In a particularly heartbreaking scene the crew caught the moment a group of birds had fallen over the edge of a chasm after a white-out, and were left trapped with their young in bitter -60C conditions.
Horrified viewers watched as one bird was forced to abandon her chick who couldn't make it out of the steep ravine, and took to Twitter to share their heartbreak over the traumatic scenes.
Upon returning when conditions had cleared a few days later to find the penguins still trapped, the BBC crew ultimately decided to break its "never interfere" rule to offer the birds some help, building an escape ramp by fashioning some "steps in the snow" that the remaining birds could use to clamber to safety.
Viewers were thrilled to see the penguins using the ramp to make their way out of the ravine, with one calling it a "special moment in wildlife filming".
Viewers have heaped praise on BBC film crew after they intervened when a colony of emperor penguins were left stranded in an icy ravine in a blizzard. Photo / BBC
Earlier in the episode viewers had taken to Twitter to share their distress over the scenes, urging the crew to intervene.
One viewer wrote: "I'm sorry but if I were a camera man on Dynasties - I wouldn't care for letting nature 'take it's course'.
"I'd run head first into that snow storm to rescue that abandoned penguin chick. Heart broke watching it tumble down like that".
Another emotional viewer added: "Right, that's it. That baby penguin failing to climb out of the icy ravine after being abandoned by its mother has just finished me off. I'm phoning in sick at work, tomorrow."
Another viewer wrote online: "You'd have to be hard as nails to work on Dynasties - imagine having to resist saving those baby Penguins".
The scenes drove many to tears, with one distressed man tweeting: "I'm a 23 year old man sat crying at penguins. Madness."
Heartbroken viewers took to Twitter to express their distress at scenes which showed abandoned penguin chicks, before the crew stepped into save them. Photo / BBC
Elsewhere one mother admitted: "We totally had to pretend to the youngest that the mum penguin who made it out of the ravine with her baby was the same mum as the one who abandoned her chick, and she'd just realised her terrible mistake and gone back for him".
And another emotional woman wrote: "Not okay with that Mam penguin leaving that poor little chick in the ravine to freeze. Don't know how the camera people didn't go and scoop it out and take it back to its Mam (sic)".
But it proved to be a rollercoaster of emotions for viewers, as the BBC crew decided to act after returning for filming days later to find some penguins had perished.
In an unprecedented move the crew, who spent 337 days on the icy continent, working in -60C temperatures and 100kph plus winds, took a "unanimous" decision to dig an escape ramp in deadly cold temperatures to save them.
And relieved viewers quickly flooded the social network to praise the scenes, which will undoubtedly make for some of the most heart-warming TV of the year.
"They saved some of the baby penguins not everything is terrible!" one relieved viewer wrote.
Another added: "Dynasties amazing. The crew saving the penguins will go down as a special moment in wildlife filming."
"Three cheers to the camera crew for digging a little ramp to save those penguins and their babies!"
"Remarkable work all round, but extra thanks for giving nature a tiny helping hand. We need to give nature all the helping hands we can," another added.
The BBC crew opted to intervene passively to help the penguins left stranded in an icy ravine. Photo / BBC
Defending their move, another wrote: "So glad the crew decided to act and save the penguins in the ravine. There's always the 'don't interfere with nature' argument, but humanity does plenty to destroy it, so we can also give a helping hand if opportunity presents".
Another emotional viewer concluded: "Emotionally drained - stuffed nose from blubbing over Emperor Penguin chicks in danger - but as ever, total brilliance & dedication from the filmmakers".
Speaking to The Times, Director Lawson said: "We opted to intervene passively. Once we'd dug that little ramp, which took very little time, we left it to the birds. We were elated when they decided to use it.
