A Father’s Sacrifice

March of the Penguins follows the Emperor Penguins of Antarctica on their incredible journey through ice and snow to mating grounds inland. This beautiful documentary captures the drama of these three-foot-high birds.
Once the penguins have made the trek and the females have produced their eggs, a remarkable exchange occurs. Through an intricate dance, each mother swaps her egg into the father's care. At this point the father becomes responsible for the egg and must keep it warm and elevated off the ice for weeks on end.
The camera shows the fathers securing the eggs on top of their feet and sheltering them against the cold. Morgan Freeman narrates:
"Now begins one of nature's most incredible and endearing role reversals. It is the penguin male who will tend the couple's single egg. While the mother feeds and gathers food to bring back for the newborn, it is the father who will shield the egg from the violent winds and cold. He will make a nest for the egg atop his own claws, keeping it safe and warm beneath a flap of skin on his belly. And he will do this for more than two months … "By the time their vigil on top of the egg is over, the penguin fathers will have gone without food for 125 days and they will have endured one of the most violent and deadly winters on earth, all for the chick."

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