Penguins

Antarctica.

The coldest, windiest place on our planet.

Half of the year, there's total darkness.

The sun doesn't rise at all.

For the most part,

it's completely devoid of life.

But each spring, that changes.

Meet Steve.

Two feet tall and 15 pounds

of freewheeling Adelie penguin.

As a five-year-old male coming of age,

he's going to be facing

some serious obstacles in the months ahead.

But not to worry.

"Obstacle" is Steve's middle name.

Although Steve's made this trek before,

in previous years, he was mostly just along for the ride.

But he's not that same carefree kid anymore.

This year, he'll be joining adult society.

He has no clue what he's getting into.

All he knows is, he's running late.

All the other experienced males

in Steve's colony are way ahead of him

on a 100-mile annual journey

across sea and ice to Antarctica's rugged shores.

They're returning home in advance of the females

to set up camp for the mating season.

And they number in the millions.

Adelies spend the entire winter out in the Southern Ocean.

But now that spring has arrived,

they're seeking dry land.

Because dry land is the only place

they can start a family.

And it's not just any old patch of land they're heading to.

They're returning to the place they were born.

Their only job is to find a good place to set up a home,

raise their chicks,

and then head back to the sea again before winter.

It's a monumental polar expedition

that favors the early bird.

And Steve is the last one to the party.

Wait, what?

Oh, no!

No, no, no.

Emperor penguins?

Entirely wrong species.

Hey! Any of you seen

a half a million penguins, about my height?

Similar build.

No?

Okay.

A-ha! An obstacle.

Hyah!

Yes.

Hey, there, I'm looking for...

I don't know what that means.

I'm gonna go over here, talk to someone else.

Just trying to ask a question.

Excuse me? Do we know each...

Actually, it's Steve with a...

Okay.

Hey, kid, wake up.

Have you seen a colony...

Ow!

Dude, I'm just asking...

Ow. Stop that.

Ow. Ow.

Stop. Ow.

I just got beat up by a baby.

This is not going well.

Please? Anyone.

Yeah! Yeah, uncomfortable.

Yeah, okay. Not panicking, not panicking.

This is crazy, this is crazy.

This is crazy, this is crazy... Whoa!

I'm good. All good.

This is just a bad dream.

Oh, hey! There they are. Guys, wait up.

Guys!

Finally, Steve has reached his destination.

The big city.

It's a tough place for a first-timer.

Everyone's just arrived,

and they're all fighting for their own little patch

of ice-free rock.

And young newcomers like Steve

need to watch their step.

First order of business,

find a nice, quiet nesting spot to call his own.

Even though he was born here,

Steve's never had to stake out his own place before.

But it shouldn't be that hard to find a good spot. Right?

Hey, fellas, what's up?

New in town, just, uh, you know,

looking for a good nesting spot.

So, if you hear of anything... Mmm-hmm.

Ouch. Please don't bite me. Thank you. Ouch.

The older, more experienced males

have held these prime nesting spots

for years.

And they will protect their turf with their lives.

Staying calm. Not panicking.

Not panicking.

All right, I'm sorry.

Well, that was, uh, competitive.

All right. Next challenge.

There's only one thing more precious

to an Adelie penguin than exposed ground.

Stones.

There's not really anything else to collect here.

They use the stones to build their nests.

Each one raises the nest

a little bit higher off the ground,

making sure their eggs will be protected

from the cold snow.

By the time Steve gets around to starting his collection,

most of the good ones have been taken.

He has to work double time just to catch up.

It's paying off, though.

He's building himself quite an attractive little nest.

Maybe too attractive.

Ah, welcome to the neighborhood.

Thank you.

Hmm. Could've sworn I had more.

Oh, well.

Wait a minute.

One, two, three, four, five...

Hey!

One, two, three...

Five.

What?

Maybe if I...

Oh. He'll just...

What if... No.

Maybe I could... No.

How am I supposed to...

What's with all these neighbors?

They just come along and steal stuff.

Hey!

You know what? Just stay calm. Don't play their game.

Steve's got to finish his nest fast

because out on the sea ice,

another several hundred thousand Adelies

are headed his way.

A few weeks behind the males,

the females are now returning, too.

Just like the males,

they've been out at sea all winter.

They are the second wave of the great homecoming.

And when they get to the colony,

they're gonna wanna see some progress on those nests.

Adelie penguins return to the same nest site every year

in the hope of finding their same partner.

Which means a lot of these guys are singing,

"Welcome home, darling!"

[MALE PENGUINS CONTINUE CALLING]

There's nothing more attractive to the ladies

than a good crooner.

So, Steve lets it rip.

All right, ladies.

Open for business.

Oh, look at these two lovebirds, hitting it off.

Good for you.

Oh, here comes one.

Is she looking at me?

I think she's looking at me.

Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh!

She's coming this way!

Hi, there. My name's Steve.

And she's walking away.

Sometimes the most beautiful songs

are the sad ones.

Looks like this just isn't Steve's year.

Hold on a minute.

Hi. I'm Steve.

Steve, meet Adeline.

It's more than just a beautiful courtship ritual.

Steve and Adeline will use these initial moments of intimacy

to memorize each other's voices.

After this,

they'll be able to find one another

amongst the crowds...

forever.