When a giant oil spill off the coast of Cape Town reaches a colony of African penguins during their breeding season, these already-endangered birds face certain death. Yes, penguins are known for their toughness, having had to thrive in some of nature's most extreme conditions of cold and heat. But these penguins are also in dire need of protection; African penguins are the only penguin species that breed exclusively in Africa and can't be found anywhere else on the planet. When an oil spill threatens their habitat and breeding activities with thousands of gallons of gloppy oil, volunteers from around the world rush to their rescue, including animal care experts from SeaWorld? San Diego, SeaWorld? Orlando, the Baltimore Zoo, the Tri State Bird Rescue & Research, the IFAW (The International Fund for Animal Welfare) and SANCCOB (South African Foundation for the Conservation of Costal Birds). Together these volunteers set into motion the biggest evacuation and rescue attempt of wild birds in history.

Created specifically for kids, "Saving A Species: The Great Penguin Rescue" details how bird conservation experts, local citizens, tourists, government and business workers and concerned volunteers from all parts of the world partner to save the oiled penguins. An old railroad warehouse in Cape Town quickly becomes the rehab site, and in just 24 hours, dry pools are set up, water and electricity installed and crushed shells are delivered, and the facility is good to go! Volunteers rescue the oiled birds from their islands - by air, boat and even truck - and the clean-up begins.

It takes two volunteers about an hour to wash one penguin (two sudsings for each), and there are thousands of birds! Will their rescue efforts succeed, and will they be able to save the more fragile chicks?

The program is loaded with fascinating information about penguins-- most species of penguins lay only one or two eggs at a time, and generally only one survives; penguins are warm-blooded seabirds, and three variables help them survive in frigid water and extreme weather - body fat, metabolic rate and their blood flow system; penguins in warmer climates release heat through bare patches around their eyes and beaks; left alone, oiled-soaked birds would no longer be waterproof and would be unable to swim.

In "Saving A Species: The Great Penguin Rescue," kids learn that in addition to environmental threats, human activities such as hunting, coastal development, pollution and the over-harvesting of the kinds of fish that penguins eat can also threaten penguins' existence. They also see how the massive South African rescue effort would not have been possible without the thousands of volunteers who came to help.

"Saving A Species: The Great Penguin Rescue" premieres on the Discovery Kids Channel on Sunday, November 19th, 2006 at 6:30 PM (ET).