Penguins: Spy in the Huddle

From award-winning filmmaker John Downer comes a two-hour special event dedicated to exploring the colorful secrets behind the elusive world of penguins. Downer, who has transformed wildlife filmmaking by pioneering the use of spy cameras in order to capture nature's most intimate moments, has taken natural history filmmaking to a whole different level with this new project. For PENGUINS: WADDLE ALL THE WAY, Downer developed a cutting-edge team of Penguin Spy Cams to offer viewers an unprecedented glimpse into the lives and challenges of three different penguin species: emperor penguins in Antarctica, rockhopper penguins on the Falkland Islands, and Humboldt penguins in the Atacama Desert of Peru. These feisty and charismatic birds struggle to raise their young against extraordinary odds. Using animatronic cameras cleverly disguised as life-size penguins, Downer's team was able to infiltrate the protective colonies from an entirely new angle, recording the emotional and oftentimes amusing behaviors of the penguins. More than 50 remote-controlled cameras camouflaged as super-realistic penguins, chicks and even eggs allowed the filmmakers an unparalleled opportunity to waddle up close and personal with these flightless birds both on land and at sea without ruffling any feathers. The Penguin Cams can swim, toboggan, waddle, jump and even lay fake eggs. In fact, they appear so life-like that some of the penguins try to befriend them. Wherever the penguins go, Penguin Cam follows.