Man spends 8 months on tiny island, captures king penguin story in 'A Year on Planet Earth'
Wildlife cameraman Tom Hartwell recounted the 'incredible' experience filming on Marion Island for the Fox Nation special
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}One nature enthusiast went to great lengths to feature one of Mother Nature's most prized species, the king penguin, and the communities around the globe that protect them in the new Fox Nation series, "A Year on Planet Earth."
Wildlife cameraman Tom Hartwell joined "Fox & Friends Weekend" to discuss the special and what it was like to spend eight months on a small, remote, subarctic island to capture the life of the penguins from conception.
"I was very, very fortunate to be sent off to this tiny island, Marion Island with a small team… and spent eight months following the life of king penguins," Hartwell told co-host Pete Hegseth. "So we follow king penguin all the way through from an egg all the way through to an adult, and it really is an incredible story that is told on a just unbelievably remote and epic island."
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"It was very, very cool to be a part of," he continued.
Hartwell spent several months on the South African island, at the start of the global pandemic, to film the series.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tom Hartwell was the cameraman who spent 8 months on Marion Island
It was filmed in more than 60 different locations, and features many animal species and how they grapple with all four seasons in different parts of the world, over the span of one year.
The story about the penguins, from start to finish, can be found in episode 1 of the series titled, "Winter." The first episode also highlights how animals battle extreme climates during the winter months in places like Dalen in Norway and Svalbard in the Arctic Circle.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We certainly saw some crazy stuff," Hartwell said. "With wildlife, I think all of us we find home, and we find friends within nature, and that's why we do this job… There was never a dull moment.
"Of course, there are times, you know, this was during the global pandemic as well, so we were eight months away while all our families and friends back home were all struggling with COVID, trying to stay safe," he continued. "So that obviously added to things, too. But no, it was just phenomenal. Just the most incredible place."
'A Year on Planet Earth' is now available for streaming on Fox Nation
Hegseth asked Hartwell if he named each penguin on the island, and he responded by noting it would have taken quite some time to do so, given how many of the animals use the island as a breeding ground.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We would have been there a long time," Hartwell said. "It's over a million penguins that go to the island to breed, so I would have been there naming them for a long time."
"A Year on Planet Earth" is now available for streaming on Fox Nation.