Darwin's Amazing Animals

A well-worn "penguin highway" 120 meters wide finds thousands of the cute creatures in a long uphill stampede toward some unseen goal. What's the hurry? Amazingly enough, it's a daily affair for them! Meet the gentoos of the Falkland Islands, the fastest penguins on the planet. They've positioned their breeding grounds far from the hazards of the shore. But getting the younger generations into marathon shape can be quite a challenge. Parents persevere, since their chicks' lives depend on it.

Recent studies have revealed that all those chirps and chatter we thought birds were making just for fun are actually words and sentences. They have a language all their own! Experts have found what they believe are "schools" where chicks learn to speak. What's more, forest animals already seem to have become bird-lingual! Squirrels in Japan's north learn the language of birds as a means of survival, taking advantage of their feathered friends' keen eyesight and ability to spot enemies quickly.

A trip to document nature's rebound after a major typhoon adds to our continuing series highlighting the Tama River Triangle, a wildlife kingdom in the Tokyo metropolis. A massive dead tree deposited on a sandbank provides the perfect vantage point for many birds of prey while the waters at its base teem with fish. Entering a nearby bamboo grove, we encounter a predator's feeding grounds as well as a tree trunk spanning a stream that serves as a bridge for Japanese weasels and other animals.