BBC film crew broke their strict ‘no interference’ rule to save penguins in heartbreaking situation

We've all been tempted to break the rules at work every now and then, but some members of a BBC film crew broke a major rule when saving the lives of a group of penguins.

When it comes to nature documentaries there's few who know better than Sir David Attenborough, and he's previously revealed that not everything is as it seems when it comes to some of the sounds you hear.

Perhaps the major rule when it comes to film crews working out in the wild is to not interfere, as then it wouldn't be an accurate representation of the animals' lives.

However, a film crew who were with Sir David in Antarctica recording for his series Dynasties decided to step in when they spotted a group of penguins in trouble.

The video footage shows the flightless birds stuck in a ravine with seemingly no way out, and heartbreakingly a few of the colony had already passed away.

The film crew decided to step in and dig the penguins a way out (BBC)

Viewers were no doubt left on the edge of their seats, urging the film crew to help out, and thankfully they decided to forget about protocol and dug out some manmade steps to allow the penguins to escape.

Fortunately, they quickly took notice and decided to waddle their way out of the ravine to safety, with the crew's actions ensuring that much of the colony would survive, rather than being left to perish in the brutal arctic conditions.

Veteran wildlife cameraman Doug Allan applauded the Dynasties film crew's actions when speaking to The Guardian.

He said: "Interfering or not is a decision based on what you’re seeing at the time. To interfere on a predation event is definitely wrong but, in this situation, they didn’t spook the penguins. All they did was create an escape route for them.

"I certainly think, in that case, what they did was entirely justifiable and entirely understandable. I would have done the same thing in their situation."

(BBC)

Director Will Lawson who worked on the penguin footage spoke more about the decision during an interview with The One Show.

He said: "It was not a straightforward decision by any stretch of the imagination.

"You just have to look at the facts that are in front of you before you make a decision like that, and that's exactly what you did."

It wouldn't be the last time a BBC film crew would interfere, as they also stepped in when seeing some sea lions trapped in fishing nets on Planet Earth III.