01 April 2008

BBC to show rare flying penguins footage

LONDON - The BBC will today screen remarkable footage of penguins flying as part of its new natural history series, Miracles of Evolution.

According to a report by the UK Daily Telegraph camera crews discovered a colony of AdÃƒ~©lie penguins while filming on King George Island, some 750 miles south of the Falkland Islands.

The programme is being presented by ex-Monty Python star Terry Jones, who said: "We'd been watching the penguins and filming them for days, without a hint of what was to come.

"But then the weather took a turn for the worse. It was quite amazing. Rather than getting together in a huddle to protect themselves from the cold, they did something quite unexpected, that no other penguins can do."

BBC1 viewers will see the penguins not only take flight from the Antarctic wastes, but fly thousands of miles to the Amazonian rainforest to find winter sun.

"Not only does it create a vivid and emotional experience for the viewer, it also illustrates just how bold and simple Darwin's idea of natural selection was," said Jones.

Footnote: Astute TravelMole readers will have noticed that the BBC report is being shown on April 1, April FoolÃ¢â¬â¢s Day.