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00:08Antarctica, located at the bottom of the world, this is one of the last frontiers on Earth.
00:15As inhospitable as it seems, this is a place of startling wonders, panoramic vistas, and...
00:23Hey, what are you doing here?
00:24It's me, Lil' Peanut.
00:27After I saw how good vistas can dance, I came here to Antarctica.
00:31They're trying to meet them and learn some of their moves.
00:36Wait a second, your voice sounds familiar.
00:39Yeah, I played a penguin named Eticus in Happy P2.
00:43I'll tell you what, it's cold.
00:46Well, this is the coldest place on Earth.
00:48The lowest recorded temperature was 129 degrees below zero.
00:53Are you a scientist or something?
00:54Me, a scientist.
00:57Actually, I'm just the narrator.
00:59This is our documentary, Helping Penguins and Pals.
01:02So, if you wanted to learn about penguins, you're in the right place.
01:05That's cool.
01:06But speaking of cool, why is it so cold?
01:10Because it's the South Pole.
01:11It's so far south that it gets less sunlight than most other places on Earth.
01:16But if it's so cold, how can animals survive?
01:19And I thought winter was bad where I come from.
01:22That's a great question.
01:24There are many amazing animals that live here.
01:27And each one has its own way of staying warm, raising their families, and taking care of their young.
01:32Let me help you.
01:34Where are the penguins?
01:35Will I get to meet them?
01:37Please, please?
01:38Of course.
01:40Penguins are very social and like to hang out in big groups where they lay their eggs and raise their
01:44young.
01:45There are several types of penguins that live in Antarctica.
01:47Hey!
01:48They look like Atticus, Bo, Eric, and his dad mumble.
01:52That's right, Little Peanut.
01:53These are emperor penguins.
01:55To get a closer look, why don't we visit some friends of mine?
01:58They know a lot about these birds.
02:01Hi, Little Peanut.
02:03Well, an emperor penguin looks like it's always dressed for a dinner party.
02:06They have white bellies, black heads, black backs, and black wings.
02:11What distinguishes an emperor penguin, however, from all the other penguins is its size.
02:15These are some really big penguins.
02:18They can grow up to be up to four feet tall.
02:21That's pretty tall and weigh as much as 88 pounds.
02:25Yes!
02:25Fly, Daddy!
02:26Fly!
02:30Emperor penguins cannot fly even though they have something that looks like wings.
02:35These wings, however, become very, very important when they're swimming in the ocean.
02:40In fact, they act a lot like flippers.
02:43The food source for emperor penguins is in the ocean.
02:47So they'll swim around and they'll look for things like fish, squid, and even krill.
02:54Emperor penguins do mate for life.
02:57However, to find that mate, they participate in a very elaborate courtship dance.
03:03And every winter, they come back and they find the very same mate.
03:07Once a female emperor penguin has laid an egg, she gives that egg to the male and then she leaves.
03:13In fact, all the females leave.
03:15They go on an extended hunting expedition that can last as long as two months.
03:21While the females are away, the males are taking care of the egg and they keep it warm with a
03:26brood pouch.
03:27This brood pouch is a flap of skin that's covered in feathers and it drapes over that egg.
03:32This keeps the egg nice and toasty at about 95 degrees.
03:38Emperor penguin chicks are very vulnerable to the elements of Antarctica.
03:42In order for them to survive, they will sit on their parents' feet until they develop those feathers
03:48that can protect them from the icy cold Antarctica wind.
03:57Um, Little Peanut, are you okay?
04:01Sorry, but whenever I see penguins, I just feel like dancing.
04:05They do have that effect.
04:08It's Ramon and the Amigos.
04:10Well, that's not Ramon or the Amigos, but these are Adelie penguins and we can learn about them too.
04:16The Adelie penguin is much smaller than the emperor penguin.
04:20They grow to be just over two feet tall and weigh as much as 12 pounds.
04:26So they're a much smaller penguin, but they're just as cute.
04:29Unlike the emperor penguin, the Adelie penguin lays two eggs instead of one.
04:34Male emperor penguins take care of the chicks on their own.
04:37However, with the Adelie penguins, both parents participate in the raising of their chick.
04:42Adelie penguins generally build their nest on the rocky coastlines of Antarctica.
04:47In order to build this nest, they create a small ring that's just big enough for their eggs to sit
04:52in.
04:52And this rocky nest will ensure that that egg stays in one place.
04:56Gosh, he's eating rocks.
04:58That's no rock, hombre. It's lobstones.
05:02Hmm, let me guess. Are those for your rock collection?
05:06No, silly. When you paying attention, whoever gets the pebbles gets the girl.
05:11Well, it seems to work for the Adelies.
05:14Anyways, let's move on to some of the other animals in Antarctica.
05:17Good eye, gorgeous.
05:19I'm sorry.
05:21Southern elephant seal is actually the largest seal in the world.
05:25The males weigh about four tons and the females weigh about one ton.
05:28Elephant seals like to eat a variety of different things.
05:30They'll eat krill, they'll eat squid, they'll eat fish.
05:33And mainly they get their food from diving and searching for their prey for a long period of time.
05:38In fact, they can be out at sea for about 105 days.
05:42They have an extra amount of red blood cells in their system.
05:46And they actually have extra cavities to hold the red blood cells.
05:49The longest dive actually that's been recorded in the Southern Elephant Seal has been for over two hours.
05:54The beach master backs up for nobody.
05:56Brian the beach master in Happy Feet 2 is an excellent representation of exactly what happens out in the real
06:02world.
06:02You'll have this alpha male dominating the beach.
06:05He typically stands his ground and holds that area.
06:09You'll see a lot of yelling and bumping of chests and eventually sometimes they get to fighting.
06:13And the alpha male usually wins and he's been called the beach master and he's got to defend his territory.
06:18What are you looking at?
06:19What are you looking at?
06:20I don't know.
06:21But it sure is ugly.
06:24I know this one.
06:25You're an elephant seal.
06:28That's right.
06:29Say hello to the new beach master.
06:31I don't back up for anybody.
06:33Okay, Peanut.
06:34You're the beach master.
06:35But I hope no other elephant seals come along to challenge you.
06:39And while we're on the topic of large animals, let's take a look at whales.
06:46Hi little Peanut.
06:48Although blue whales might seem like a fish, they actually are in fact a mammal just like humans.
06:55Blue whales are the biggest animal in the world and the biggest one ever recorded was about 108 feet long.
07:02That's about the size of three school buses.
07:06So it can weigh over 330,000 pounds, which is a really big animal.
07:12So this is all we are. Lunch.
07:16Blue whales love to eat krill.
07:18They can eat up to 40 million of those a day.
07:21And every time they go to feed, they open up their mouths, swallow up a bunch of krill and water.
07:27And then they push the water out of their mouth and then they can swallow all of that krill.
07:31And every time they gulp up krill and water together, that's about 17,000 gallons, which would be enough to
07:38fill a school bus.
07:39Hey, I almost forgot about the krill. They're those tiny, tiny, tiny creatures.
07:46Sure, the krill are very, very small, but don't judge them by their size.
07:50Hey, look at me. I'm small, but I'm still cool.
07:54That's right. Many of the animals in Antarctica depend on the krill. Let's zoom in for a closer look.
08:00Krill is really important in the food chain. They're what we call our keystone species, which means that they help
08:07keep everything working down there in Antarctica.
08:10The type that the blue whales eat are usually between one and two inches.
08:14Come on, less thinking, more swarming. I'm sick of swarming. We've been swarming all our lives.
08:18When there's a lot of krill packed very tightly together, that's actually a defense mechanism.
08:23They're doing that because they're trying to confuse animals that are trying to eat them.
08:28And if there's another animal kind of far away and they see this big shadow, they might think it's a
08:34really big animal and stay away.
08:36And that's why the krill try and make themselves look bigger than just one little individual animal that's really easy
08:42to eat.
08:43Okay, Peanut. What is it this time?
08:46You thought I was going to have a tiny krill dating you. You're wrong. I got this under control.
08:51So now you see, big or small, everybody here is important and special.
08:56And they all deserve food, shelter, and a safe place to raise their young.
09:00But in the future, there is much uncertainty. And plenty of things we humans should keep our eyes on. Right,
09:07Jerry?
09:08Hi, Peanut. One of the problems we have with global climate change is greenhouse gases.
09:14Greenhouse gases are gases in the atmosphere that keep the earth nice and warm for humans and for other animals.
09:20The trouble is, when you get too many of these, things can get too hot.
09:23And what we're concerned about is that we are adding too many of these as a result of burning of
09:28fossil fuels.
09:30Fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas.
09:34Our Earth's climate has been warming now for quite some time.
09:37And with global climate change, the poles warm the first and the fastest.
09:42That's particularly true of the Arctic, but also in the Antarctic.
09:46And in Happy Feet 2, the three penguin species that are there are the Emperors, the Adelie, and the Rockhoppers.
09:52And we have seen significant declines in the populations of all three of those.
09:57These are the bad times.
09:59Our food chain gone loco.
10:00The problems have been the loss of habitat, particularly the melting of the marginal ice,
10:06the ice around the continent that they use as their breeding areas, and also the loss of food.
10:12And both of these are related to climate change.
10:15Thankfully, there are groups and organizations working to confront climate change
10:19and to educate people of all ages about the steps that they can take to help protect and restore wildlife
10:25and their habitats.
10:26But they can't do all the work alone. Here are some things that you and your family can do at
10:31home to help too.
10:32Unplug electronic devices when not in use.
10:35Take reusable bags when you go shopping.
10:38Walk, bike, carpool, and use mass transit whenever you can.
10:42Replace old light bulbs with energy-saving compact fluorescents.
10:46Dispose of garbage and chemicals properly.
10:48Plant trees and local plants because they can absorb carbon dioxide and provide habitat.
10:53Find out how to make your school greener.
10:56Yeah, I do all that with my family. And you should, too.
11:00So that's it. I hope you learned a lot about our friends in Antarctica.
11:04For more information, please visit the National Wildlife Federation at www.nwf.org.
11:14Thanks, everybody. This is Little Peanut saying peace.
11:19Again, the United States the!
11:24Next, you should be able to do something special.
11:24To Lupines.
11:24This is love for me!
11:25This is the one that I love doing here!ruct!
11:28The relationship