David Attenborough’s crew intervened in the most recent episode of Dynasties, which aired on Sunday night.
Dynasties, which followed a colony of penguins braving the freezing cold conditions, aired on BBC One on Sunday night and it got quite a response from loads of viewers who tuned in.
In particular, there was a lot of love for the fact that Attenborough’s crew intervened to save the lives of a group of penguins.
The BBC crew intervened when it seemed certain that a group of penguins would die as a result of a “freak act of nature”.
A group of penguins had become stuck in an ice gully following a storm, and were unable to get out.
In an unprecedented move, the crew decided to act. They dug a shallow ramp in the hope that at least some of the penguins would use it to save themselves ?#Dynasties pic.twitter.com/yRuoEGPDCk
— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) November 18, 2018
They have since defended their actions, maintaining that it was the right thing to do.
Series executive producer Mike Gunton discussed the subject on BBC Radio 5 Live, saying:
“It’s such an unusual circumstance to do this.”
“There are lots of situations where you couldn’t, and shouldn’t and wouldn’t – but I think in this situation there were so many factors.”
He also said that they normally have a rule which stops them from interfering, but that this was a freak incident:
“We have a rule that interfering is a very dangerous thing to do. But these penguins were going to die through a freak act of nature if nothing happened.
“How would this conversation be going if you said you saw them there and did nothing? I think you have to do it.”
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