A Year With the Penguins

This series follows the stories of the orangutans and the staff at the world’s biggest orangutan rehabilitation center.

We call ourselves Kiwis. But do we really know where "our" bird came from? The answer is astounding... and rather disturbing. To trace the origins of the kiwi and the rest of our weird and wonderful wildlife, we travel back through time - to Primeval New Zealand. For the first time science is revealing the true story about where our wildlife icons came from, and the reasons for their unique evolution.

Every winter, four penguin species begin their breeding in four very different locations in southern New Zealand. In the rugged Fiordland National Park, some Fiordland crested penguins build cave-like nests inside the fiord, while others prefer the coastline.

In summer, hordes of giant sea lions descend upon a desolate beach, and testosterone-driven males begin bloody battles for mating rights. When the pregnant females return to give birth on the beach, chaos ensues.