It’s hard to think of a creature that is more adorable than a penguin, and little penguin chicks are even cuter!

While humans see penguins as cute, their predators in the wild sadly just see them as good meals. That’s why television viewers went into panic mode when a nature program showed a giant petrel approach a group of Emperor penguin chicks.

The video below comes from the BBC documentary “Spy in the Snow,” a program that focuses on showing creatures who live in the coldest part of this planet. Using animatronic animals, this show is able to infiltrate the animal world in a way that no other program has before!

The footage below shows how scary day to day life can really be for penguins. The video opens with a group of penguin chicks waddling around in the snow, minding their own business, when a giant petrel appears out of nowhere and tries to snatch one of the chicks away.

The penguin chick is able to escape the petrel’s clutches, and the group of chicks proceed to huddle together, creating a defensive circle. Things aren’t looking good for the chicks, since they are only babies and don’t have the life experience needed to outsmart the petrel. Luckily for them, however, help is on the way!

Over the hill of snow comes an Adélie penguin, which is known as “the feistiest penguin in the world.” Without hesitating, the Adélie penguin places himself between the chicks and the petrel in order to protect the babies.

The petrel knows better than to pick a fight with an Adélie penguin, so he soon flies away to look for food elsewhere. The Emperor penguin chicks are then safe and sound thanks to the Adélie, much to the joy of viewers around the world!

Watch the amazing footage for yourself below!