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Of all the wonderful places
in the world, one continent holds

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more riches than any other.

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It covers almost
a third of the land on Earth.

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In the south, stand vast forests.

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And to the north...

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..lies an immense frozen wilderness.

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Much of the centre is
dominated by deserts.

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And at its heart are the world's
highest mountains.

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Off the coast of this continent,

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stretch the richest seas on Earth.

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And that's not all.

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This is the most populous place on
the planet.

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Here, animals live alongside humans
in the most remarkable ways.

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If you think you've seen the best
the natural world has to offer,

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think again.

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There's nowhere else on Earth
with so many untold stories.

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Welcome then, to Asia.

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Asia is the largest continent on
Earth.

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With a coastline over 100,000
miles long,

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it's surrounded by three oceans
and 21 seas.

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Its waters stretch from Arabia,
through the Indian Ocean

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and Southeast Asia, to the
edge of the Pacific.

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Connected by some of the world's
most powerful currents...

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..these seas are the richest
on the planet.

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And the animals in Asia's oceans are
as spectacular as they are diverse.

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In the warm waters
of the Western Pacific,

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lives a dramatic little fish, with
pouting lips and dazzling stripes...

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..the flamboyant Moorish idol.

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This one is looking for a partner.

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Moorish idols normally breed in
pairs.

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But here, they do something that
no others of their species do.

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They congregate in huge numbers...

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..before swimming away from
the reef, to spawn.

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But so many fish attract attention.

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A grey reef shark...

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..and it's not alone.

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With so many hiding places,
there is safety on the reef...

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..but they must get out past
the sharks.

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Finally, they make a break for it.

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Now in open water,
they can swim into the blue.

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But they've been spotted.

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A few sharks can be avoided...

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..but hundreds are
a different matter.

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To have any chance of survival,
they must stay in a tight group.

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The sharks try to split them up...

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..and pick them off.

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After two hours of chasing,

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only the strongest are left.

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The few survivors swim in tight
spirals, desperate to avoid capture.

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The sharks, tired and full,

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one-by-one, abandon the chase...

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..until only the luckiest
and fittest Moorish idols survive.

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No-one knows exactly
where they spawn.

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But the developing young are carried
away to safety by the currents.

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From the Western Pacific,
comes one of the most powerful

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currents in the world -
the Indonesian Throughflow.

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It sweeps between Borneo
and Sulawesi, and into

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the Flores Sea, where it hits
Indonesia's Lesser Sunda Islands.

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Here, water is forced between
the islands at a rate

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of 15 billion litres a second.

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And this produces some of
the world's most intense currents...

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..and whirlpools.

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Off the island of Komodo,

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the water is funnelled into
fast-flowing torrents,

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which concentrate the plankton
it carries...

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..providing food...

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..for giants.

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Manta rays.

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With a wingspan
of up to five metres,

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these mantas exploit
the powerful currents.

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They feed by filtering plankton from
the water.

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Such a feast makes this an excellent
place to produce young.

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When the adults need a break, they
head off for a bit of pampering.

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Out of the main flow
are cleaning stations,

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staffed by hundreds
of butterfly fish.

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The cleaners remove parasites
and dead skin,

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and get a meal in exchange
for their services.

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And the mantas get a welcome break
from the ripping currents.

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Refreshed,
they can go back to feeding.

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As the Indonesian Throughflow
continues, one branch flows

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past Bali, to Java and
some of the richest

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coastal forests on Earth...

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..mangroves.

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These are places where nothing
is as you might expect.

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Trees grow in the sea...

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..and fish live on land.

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A dusky-gilled mudskipper...

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..only five centimetres long,

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but a master of these swamps.

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As long as they can stay wet,
they can absorb oxygen from the air,

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and they spend most of their life
out of water.

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Joints in their pectoral fins
enable them to walk...

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..and they can leap with
a flick of their tail.

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This one is seeking a mate with
whom to start a family.

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But first, he needs to dig
a breeding burrow.

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Mudskippers will shift up to 300
times their body weight in mud,

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one mouthful at a time.

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Tiring work!

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With the dirty job done,

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it's time to find a female.

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But the mangroves are full
of obstacles.

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A special set of grasping belly
fins, however,

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enable skippers to become climbers.

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And when there is a dead end...

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..a mudskipper simply skips
across the water's surface,

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a metre at a time.

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What's this?

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An open arena...

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..full of females.

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Excellent!

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But there are also other males here
looking for partners.

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To win a female, they must duel.

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But no-one is backing down.

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Victory and the opponent
beats a hasty retreat.

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And it looks like this male...

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..has caught someone's eye.

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A quick wave should seal the deal.

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It's a date.

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They head back to his place...

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..ready to start a family of
their own.

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Mangrove forests are essential for
the survival of Asia's mudskippers.

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And trap four times more carbon
than forests growing on dry land.

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Today, Southeast Asia holds
a third of what is left of these

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precious forests...

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..adding clean, fresh water
to the Indonesian Throughflow,

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as it travels.

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Sweeping away from Indonesia,

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the current heads west across
the vast Indian Ocean...

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..carrying with it a whole host of
drifters.

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And some objects provide
entertainment

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for one of Asia's giants.

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A baby sperm whale plays
with a mangrove seed,

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so practising his coordination.

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He produces pulses of high frequency
sound from his large head,

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sonar that will eventually enable
him to locate prey

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in the black depths...

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..and zeroing in on a tiny seed
is great practice for doing so.

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When you're as big as this,

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grabbing something
the size of a pencil is not easy.

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With play over,
it's time to get back to the family.

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The grown-ups are taking a nap.

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It's thought that the reason
they sleep upright is to make it

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easy to bob up for air.

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The calf is keen to join in.

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But it's not as easy as it looks.

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Staying vertical takes practice.

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And when you get the hang of that,

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the next challenge is buoyancy.

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Holding just the right amount of
breath is an art.

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Too little and you sink.

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The adults tenderly correct
his mistakes.

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He still has a lot to learn.

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In his 70-year lifespan,

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he will explore
much of the Indian Ocean.

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From here, the Indonesian
Throughflow continues west...

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..but a very different kind of
traffic is moving northwards.

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Shipping.

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Major international cargo-lanes
run from the Indian Ocean

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into the Red Sea, which divides
Asia from Africa.

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At its Northern end
is the Suez Canal.

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One third of the world's container
freight travels along it

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and emerges into
the Mediterranean...

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..one of the planet's
most polluted seas.

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Here, on Asia's westernmost
coastline,

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this Israeli power station
discharges water ten degrees hotter

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than the surrounding sea.

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Astonishingly, this has become
a refuge for one of the most

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vulnerable of species...

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..dusky sharks.

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Mediterranean sharks
are the most endangered on Earth.

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But up to 100 females
come here in winter...

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..and each one of them is pregnant.

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It's thought the warmth speeds up

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the development of
their unborn young.

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This power station has created
a shark sanctuary by accident.

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But elsewhere in Asia,

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deliberate steps are being taken
to protect marine life.

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Over 5,000 miles away on the other
side of the continent...

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..life is booming
in the unlikeliest of places...

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..the tiny island of Tyuleniy,
in far-eastern Russia...

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..a disused hunting settlement.

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Here, enormous numbers of
fur seals were once killed

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annually for their skins.

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But hunting restrictions have
produced a spectacular recovery.

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Over 100,000 Northern fur seals now
come here each summer.

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It's one of the largest colonies in
the world.

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The beaches are jam-packed.

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BLEATS LOUDLY

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Huge, territorial males
compete for space.

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It's dangerous for the tiny pups,

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which weigh just
a 50th of the adult bulls.

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The aggressive males are only
focused on the next challenge.

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When fights break out,
the pups are ignored.

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In the aftermath,
many pups lie injured.

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Life on the beach
is full of danger...

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..but it's no safer in the sea.

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Orca.

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Fur seals returning from fishing
must run the gauntlet.

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But these orca are specialists...

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..ramming and tail-slapping
to stun their prey.

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And when their victim has been
disabled...

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..they drown it.

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00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:55,720
Many pups are left as orphans...

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..but enough will survive to support
this now healthy

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population of Northern fur seals.

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This richness in Asia's
shallow seas can also be

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found in some of its deepest waters.

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00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:38,680
Every night, billions of creatures
travel up from the abyss.

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It's the largest regular movement of
life on the planet.

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Strange life-forms come up to feed
in the surface waters...

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..among them jelly-like salps,
which have tiny crustaceans

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living inside their bodies.

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00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:25,320
As dawn arrives, they return
to the safety of the deep.

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But some creatures, gathering
in the Sea of Japan, are about

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to embark on a one-way trip
out of the depths, never to return.

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Firefly squid.

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They live for just 12 months.

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It's thought that they use
their blue bio-luminescent lights

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to confuse predators...

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..and their green lights to
communicate with one another.

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No other deep-sea
animal can see green.

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It's the squids' own secret code.

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Some quarter of a billion females
are heading to the surface.

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In the shallows, they lay
thousands of eggs in strings...

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..the final act of
their short lives.

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With this done,
their bodies are programmed to die.

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Here, on the north coast of Japan,

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they wash up on the beaches
of Toyama Bay.

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Their lights fade,
as life drifts away.

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Their eggs, however...

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..are beginning to hatch.

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Sinking into the vast darkness of
the deep sea,

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they won't return to shallow water
for a year,

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when it will be their turn to lay
eggs and then die.

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2,000 miles south,
in the western Pacific, lie wide

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expanses of shallow seas
around the Philippines,

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Malaysia and Indonesia...

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..the so-called Coral Triangle.

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Here, there are more abundant
coral reefs than anywhere else.

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It's the richest concentration
of marine life on the planet.

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00:37:36,840 --> 00:37:40,600
Three-quarters of the world's
coral species are found here...

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00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:47,200
..and over 3,000 species of fish.

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It's every bit as diverse
as the Amazon rainforest.

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Coral reefs truly are the ocean's
bustling cities.

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Many residents have evolved
ingenious ways of solving

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the problems of living in such
close quarters.

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But some appear to be
completely defenceless.

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Meet the sea bunny.

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Just a few centimetres long,

250
00:38:39,720 --> 00:38:43,560
this tiny sea slug has no shell for
protection...

251
00:38:47,840 --> 00:38:50,320
..no eyes to spot danger...

252
00:38:54,680 --> 00:38:58,880
..and travels at a snail's pace.

253
00:39:03,200 --> 00:39:05,440
It's looking for food.

254
00:39:10,240 --> 00:39:16,360
What appear to be its ears are, in
fact, finely-tuned chemical sensors,

255
00:39:16,360 --> 00:39:20,840
that enable it to "smell" its way to
its next meal.

256
00:39:34,440 --> 00:39:38,720
But on the reef,
predators are everywhere.

257
00:39:43,280 --> 00:39:45,360
When you can't see...

258
00:39:48,200 --> 00:39:50,360
..it can be hard to avoid trouble.

259
00:39:56,040 --> 00:40:00,800
Alien-like beasts patrol the nooks
and crannies of the reef.

260
00:40:26,080 --> 00:40:29,120
This one filters its food
from the water...

261
00:40:30,560 --> 00:40:32,920
..and is no threat to the sea bunny.

262
00:40:37,600 --> 00:40:41,320
But not everything here is quite
so harmless.

263
00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:47,280
The Moray eel, powerful and fast...

264
00:40:51,560 --> 00:40:54,880
..but apparently not keen on slug
for dinner.

265
00:41:03,760 --> 00:41:08,400
A scorpionfish, one of the reef's
most deadly inhabitants.

266
00:41:10,720 --> 00:41:15,400
Extravagantly camouflaged,
it waits for prey to come close...

267
00:41:23,600 --> 00:41:26,040
..then swallows them whole.

268
00:41:42,080 --> 00:41:45,520
But the sea bunny just walks all
over him.

269
00:41:55,280 --> 00:41:59,840
And now, it's headed straight
for a deadly-poisonous blue sponge.

270
00:42:03,120 --> 00:42:07,000
Blind and hungry,
it's about to take a bite.

271
00:42:15,760 --> 00:42:19,320
It seems that its luck
has finally run out.

272
00:42:23,600 --> 00:42:28,320
But, no,
this is actually its favourite food.

273
00:42:28,320 --> 00:42:30,280
It's immune to the poison...

274
00:42:32,320 --> 00:42:34,080
..and by eating the sponge,

275
00:42:34,080 --> 00:42:37,720
the sea bunny has made itself
toxic to predators.

276
00:42:41,080 --> 00:42:43,560
No wonder it's untouchable.

277
00:42:47,120 --> 00:42:50,560
As long as it can maintain its blue
sponge diet,

278
00:42:50,560 --> 00:42:54,600
the sea bunny will be protected
against the dangers of the reef.

279
00:43:02,080 --> 00:43:05,400
With so many complex survival
strategies...

280
00:43:07,240 --> 00:43:10,280
..life for predators
on the coral triangle

281
00:43:10,280 --> 00:43:12,400
can require complex tactics.

282
00:43:21,240 --> 00:43:25,120
This snake, a black-banded
sea krait,

283
00:43:25,120 --> 00:43:28,640
has venom ten times stronger
than a cobra...

284
00:43:33,880 --> 00:43:39,200
..a forked tongue that enables it
to sniff out prey underwater...

285
00:43:41,560 --> 00:43:43,400
..and a flexible body,

286
00:43:43,400 --> 00:43:47,320
so it can squeeze into crevices
on the reef to look for prey.

287
00:43:49,320 --> 00:43:51,640
A formidable killer, it would seem.

288
00:43:58,080 --> 00:44:02,200
Yet, hunting fast prey is not
one of its abilities.

289
00:44:06,000 --> 00:44:11,160
It's slow with poor eyesight,
hardly the deadliest of assassins.

290
00:44:14,560 --> 00:44:17,280
If only it were fast and agile...

291
00:44:20,400 --> 00:44:22,520
..like these bluefin trevally.

292
00:44:30,080 --> 00:44:33,400
They rely on sheer speed
to catch their prey.

293
00:44:44,280 --> 00:44:45,800
Unlike the snake,

294
00:44:45,800 --> 00:44:48,920
they are too big to get between
the arms of the coral.

295
00:44:53,760 --> 00:44:57,560
But these two struggling species
have found a solution.

296
00:45:05,920 --> 00:45:08,080
They work as a team.

297
00:45:22,280 --> 00:45:24,120
The trevally leads...

298
00:45:28,160 --> 00:45:31,160
..indicating places where prey could
be hiding...

299
00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:40,120
..which the snake then investigates.

300
00:45:50,880 --> 00:45:55,440
As they roam the reef,
they're joined by more trevally...

301
00:45:59,600 --> 00:46:01,320
..and more snakes.

302
00:46:10,800 --> 00:46:13,640
Soon, they are an army.

303
00:46:28,000 --> 00:46:30,640
The trevally find a target.

304
00:46:36,400 --> 00:46:37,920
The snakes head in...

305
00:46:40,800 --> 00:46:44,080
..and the trevally cover
the escape routes.

306
00:46:51,720 --> 00:46:53,760
There's nowhere left to hide.

307
00:47:02,280 --> 00:47:05,240
The trevally catch the fish
that are flushed out...

308
00:47:12,400 --> 00:47:15,840
..and the snake eats anything
left inside.

309
00:47:29,720 --> 00:47:32,800
Each species benefits
from the partnership.

310
00:47:37,680 --> 00:47:40,680
The hunts are so successful that
they attract

311
00:47:40,680 --> 00:47:43,040
hundreds of trevally and snakes.

312
00:48:04,400 --> 00:48:07,400
This behaviour is extremely rare,

313
00:48:07,400 --> 00:48:11,120
and has only been seen in
Asia's coral triangle.

314
00:48:12,960 --> 00:48:16,680
Innovation and teamwork are critical
to success

315
00:48:16,680 --> 00:48:19,440
in these competitive waters.

316
00:48:31,240 --> 00:48:36,000
These relationships and strategies
developed over millennia,

317
00:48:36,000 --> 00:48:39,840
are a consequence of
the extraordinary richness of

318
00:48:39,840 --> 00:48:41,400
Asia's seas.

319
00:48:45,080 --> 00:48:48,920
And whilst our influence
is now not far away,

320
00:48:48,920 --> 00:48:53,200
Asia's oceans still remain
a world of wonder,

321
00:48:53,200 --> 00:48:57,480
offering spectacles not found
anywhere else on Earth.

322
00:49:14,680 --> 00:49:19,880
The Asia team explored many
of the continent's 21 seas.

323
00:49:22,000 --> 00:49:24,960
They spent thousands of hours
underwater,

324
00:49:24,960 --> 00:49:28,040
filming the spectacular diversity of
life.

325
00:49:39,880 --> 00:49:43,040
But their biggest challenge
was getting up close with

326
00:49:43,040 --> 00:49:45,640
some of the most powerful currents
on earth.

327
00:49:49,680 --> 00:49:54,720
The Indonesian Throughflow carries
ten times more water than all

328
00:49:54,720 --> 00:49:56,760
the world's rivers combined.

329
00:50:05,600 --> 00:50:10,320
The tide has to make its way
from the Pacific to the Indian,

330
00:50:10,320 --> 00:50:12,200
and that's a huge amount of water.

331
00:50:12,200 --> 00:50:13,280
And as it does that,

332
00:50:13,280 --> 00:50:15,600
it gets squeezed through
these islands, which

333
00:50:15,600 --> 00:50:19,800
creates intense currents, but also
brings an incredible amount of life.

334
00:50:22,720 --> 00:50:26,480
The team want to capture
this immense power up close...

335
00:50:27,800 --> 00:50:30,600
..but the fast currents are making
filming difficult.

336
00:50:35,240 --> 00:50:38,600
For their first attempt,
they use a pole-mounted camera.

337
00:50:44,960 --> 00:50:48,440
But getting the boat into position
is almost impossible.

338
00:50:51,800 --> 00:50:54,040
We're fighting a losing battle.
Yeah. We'll drop it.

339
00:50:54,040 --> 00:50:55,680
Let's go back to the main boat.

340
00:50:56,880 --> 00:51:00,160
David thinks he has a solution,
but it's radical.

341
00:51:01,760 --> 00:51:04,800
He's going to get in the water
himself,

342
00:51:04,800 --> 00:51:09,400
using a floating camera rig
to film inside the vortex.

343
00:51:10,480 --> 00:51:14,280
We'll see the swirling water,
literally the opening of the

344
00:51:14,280 --> 00:51:18,400
funnel of the whirlpool, that's what
I want, it's like the epic shot.

345
00:51:19,800 --> 00:51:21,960
If the shot works, it's going
to be amazing.

346
00:51:21,960 --> 00:51:24,880
It's going to really tell
the story of the currents nicely.

347
00:51:27,880 --> 00:51:31,520
So, I think what we have to do is
put David up current, initially,

348
00:51:31,520 --> 00:51:33,280
but close-ish in to the island,

349
00:51:33,280 --> 00:51:35,120
to get those swirls,
as you come past.

350
00:51:35,120 --> 00:51:37,000
What's the normal advice for divers
here?

351
00:51:37,000 --> 00:51:40,240
Normally, we'll actually jump right
next to the island where there's no current.

352
00:51:40,240 --> 00:51:43,040
They stay out of the current
entirely...  Yes.

353
00:51:43,040 --> 00:51:46,040
..which is the opposite to what
you're going to be doing!  Yes. OK, yeah.

354
00:51:46,040 --> 00:51:49,360
This challenge is unlike anything
David has faced

355
00:51:49,360 --> 00:51:51,280
in 30 years of film-making.

356
00:51:52,800 --> 00:51:58,240
I'm going to add two life jackets
to the camera rig, and you know

357
00:51:58,240 --> 00:52:01,280
if I start to get sucked down I'm
going to just hang on to that.

358
00:52:06,560 --> 00:52:09,680
The key to staying safe will be
buoyancy.

359
00:52:09,680 --> 00:52:11,560
Yeah, I don't know
if I can get this third one on.

360
00:52:11,560 --> 00:52:15,440
Three life jackets should resist
the pull of the whirlpools.

361
00:52:15,440 --> 00:52:16,600
It's not that bad.

362
00:52:18,440 --> 00:52:20,680
What do you think? Money?  Yeah.

363
00:52:23,000 --> 00:52:26,080
The team decide to dive on
the rising tide

364
00:52:26,080 --> 00:52:27,720
when the currents are weaker.

365
00:52:32,480 --> 00:52:34,360
I think I'm plenty floaty!

366
00:52:36,760 --> 00:52:40,000
David's home-made protection
is holding up well.

367
00:52:47,720 --> 00:52:51,720
The current is running fast,
but the whirlpools aren't forming.

368
00:52:53,520 --> 00:52:55,280
David, nothing?  Nothing.

369
00:52:55,280 --> 00:52:58,720
Nothing at all?  Like, I... I feel
the current, and I, like, I don't

370
00:52:58,720 --> 00:53:04,200
see any, like, whirlpools, bubbles,
hardly anything in the water.

371
00:53:04,200 --> 00:53:06,200
Do you want picking up?

372
00:53:06,200 --> 00:53:07,680
Yeah.

373
00:53:10,080 --> 00:53:13,000
It seems that
if David is to get his shots...

374
00:53:15,320 --> 00:53:19,120
..he will have to brave the much
faster falling tide.

375
00:53:29,040 --> 00:53:32,440
Preparation will be key to success.

376
00:53:42,080 --> 00:53:44,360
Whirlpools only last a few seconds,

377
00:53:44,360 --> 00:53:49,360
so to get in the right position,
the team needs eyes in the sky.

378
00:53:52,880 --> 00:53:54,440
Drone's in the air.

379
00:53:54,440 --> 00:53:56,640
OK, copy, copy.
What do you guys see?

380
00:53:56,640 --> 00:53:59,680
The current looks strong on that
eastern edge of the island.

381
00:53:59,680 --> 00:54:03,560
If you can spot good places where
the whirlpools are cropping up...

382
00:54:06,240 --> 00:54:09,480
Mark, Mark, the swirl's
forming on the edge you're at.

383
00:54:09,480 --> 00:54:11,080
Right, thanks, mate.

384
00:54:11,080 --> 00:54:14,240
Look, we've got some,
definitely some forming here.

385
00:54:16,520 --> 00:54:20,040
David must get to the whirlpools
before they dissipate.

386
00:54:22,440 --> 00:54:26,040
Is this a good spot?
Yeah, I call it right here.

387
00:54:26,040 --> 00:54:27,320
OK, clear to go.

388
00:54:35,680 --> 00:54:38,040
You're going to get
sucked in pretty quickly.

389
00:54:39,520 --> 00:54:40,880
Behind you, David.

390
00:54:44,760 --> 00:54:48,200
Mark is ready with a throw rope, in
case of trouble.

391
00:54:55,240 --> 00:54:56,520
You OK?

392
00:54:59,160 --> 00:55:00,600
Do you want the rope?

393
00:55:02,480 --> 00:55:03,760
He's OK.

394
00:55:03,760 --> 00:55:05,200
He wants to carry on.

395
00:55:06,800 --> 00:55:09,120
David's commitment is paying off.

396
00:55:11,880 --> 00:55:13,840
He's starting to get the shots.

397
00:55:27,520 --> 00:55:30,240
But the whirlpools are growing
stronger.

398
00:55:40,720 --> 00:55:43,280
That is putting him
right in the whirlpool zone.

399
00:55:48,960 --> 00:55:50,600
He's getting sucked in.

400
00:55:58,120 --> 00:56:00,360
All he can do now is hang on.

401
00:56:03,520 --> 00:56:05,360
OK, can we get closer to David?

402
00:56:09,120 --> 00:56:10,960
Whoa!

403
00:56:10,960 --> 00:56:14,120
At last,
the whirlpool spits him out.

404
00:56:18,560 --> 00:56:20,040
David, you OK?

405
00:56:20,040 --> 00:56:21,440
Yeah.

406
00:56:23,160 --> 00:56:27,200
It's hairy. It's not doing anything
for my nerves, let alone David's.

407
00:56:28,440 --> 00:56:32,120
It's time to get
back into the safety of the boat.

408
00:56:32,120 --> 00:56:34,560
OK?  Yeah.

409
00:56:34,560 --> 00:56:37,800
It had me. Like, I could feel myself
going bloob, bloob, bloob, blub, blub.

410
00:56:37,800 --> 00:56:41,600
Really?  Like that, but I had,
I had enough, I kind of kept my hands on the camera.

411
00:56:41,600 --> 00:56:46,000
Yeah.  I didn't even see it coming,
suddenly I was like... Yeah, yeah, yeah.

412
00:56:46,000 --> 00:56:47,960
A good whirlpool, huh?

413
00:56:47,960 --> 00:56:51,840
David's plan has succeeded.

414
00:56:51,840 --> 00:56:55,920
Yeah!  He's faced Asia's ripping
whirlpools,

415
00:56:55,920 --> 00:56:59,600
and captured their fierce beauty, as
never before.

416
00:57:06,520 --> 00:57:11,000
Next time, we journey to Asia's
remarkable mountains...

417
00:57:14,400 --> 00:57:16,960
..a world full of surprises...

418
00:57:20,280 --> 00:57:24,800
..and home to some of the most
captivating creatures on the planet.

419
00:57:24,850 --> 00:57:29,400
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