All language subtitles for BAA096D936FC7454C1D55E9E25B5F763_eng

Asia. The largest of all
the Earth's continents.

It stretches from the equator
to beyond the Arctic Circle.

This is a continent of extremes.

Here temperatures can drop
to below minus 60 degrees

Celsius. On land, survival
is almost impossible.

But for a few weeks in summer, the
ice melts and the coast is transformed.

This is one of the biggest gatherings of
mammals to be found anywhere on Earth.

These are Pacific walrus.
For most of the year, they feed

out in the Arctic Ocean,
emerging to rest on the sea ice.

But now climate change has
melted the ice here, and the only

place within reach of their
grounds where they can rest are

a few beaches such as this one.

A hundred thousand of them, almost
the entire world population, are here.

They are gigantic. A
male can weigh over a ton.

And many die in the scrum.

On a beach 250 miles to the
west, there's a further danger.

Polar bears.

They too have been forced to spend
more time ashore by the dwindling ice.

And now they're very hungry.

But adult walrus are
tough, well-armed, and agile

in water, and could
fatally injure the bear.

He's failed.

The narrow beaches
here are backed by cliffs.

And some walrus scramble
up them, escaping the crowd.

At the top, they are 80
meters above the beach.

But this is not a place
where a walrus should be.

Nor are they the only
ones to have found it.

The bears have got up here too.

The walrus's instinct is
to find safety in the water.

They can still smell the sea.

And they can hear it.

Just the polar bear's presence
is enough to spook the walrus.

Many walrus that climb the cliffs
never make it back to the ocean.

Even once the polar bears have
moved on, the walrus need to

return to the sea, and some
take the nearest way to do so.

As one crashes on the rocks, those on the
beach stampede, and more lives are lost.

In the course of just a few
days, over 200 walrus die.

Now the polar bears can
feed on the carcasses.

These events only occur
once every few years. But as the

world warms and the ice
retreats still further, they may

become more frequent.

In land, the ground is gripped by
winter for six months of the year.

Two million square miles of northern
Russia are locked beneath the ice.

But even so, some creatures
have managed to make their homes

here. They leave evidence
of their presence in the snow.

These tracks all lead in one direction.

Kamchatka has the highest
density of active volcanoes on the

planet. Temperatures underground
reach 250 degrees Celsius.

Pushing up cauldrons of
boiling mud and clouds of steam.

But in spite of the dangers, some creatures
travel long distances to visit the area.

A Kamchatka brown bear. He
spent the long winter sleeping

in a den below ground, and
now he is extremely hungry.

But finding food means getting dangerously
close to the scalding fountains.

This is the only place for
many miles around where a bear

can reach grass that is snow
free, thanks to the hot earth.

Putting a foot wrong here
could lead to real trouble, and

bodies have been found of
bears that stumbled into the pools

and were scalded to death.

And this bear is not alone.

Brown bears by and large
are solitary creatures, and this

is one of the few times of
the year when they tolerate the

presence of others.

And now they are so well fed and
relaxed that they even have time to play.

This volcanic spot has become
a warm oasis in Asia's frigid north.

Away from Arctic Russia,
Asia has the hottest deserts,

highest mountains and tallest
jungles on our planet. This is

a continent of incredible variety, but

it was not always so. Some
89 million years ago, India

was an island lying away
to the south, but it drifted

northwards, pushing up the
sediments between it and mainland Asia.

Over millions of years,
the sediments lying

between crumpled up and
rose to form the Himalayas.

Now these are the tallest mountains on the
planet. They stand over five miles high.

India is still moving northwards,
and these mountains are still rising.

Asia's mountains stretch
all the way from Afghanistan

across northern India
to here in central China.

These are the mountains of
Shanonjia, among China's highest.

The forests here were, until comparatively
recently, the least known in the world.

Few outsiders had any idea of
what animals might be living in them.

There were stories of
human-like monsters, yetis,

abominable snowmen who left
strange footprints in the snow,

but little else.

And indeed, there are
monkeys living in these

snowy forests, and
they're very strange.

Meet the blue-faced, golden-coated,
snub-nosed snow monkey.

They are among the heftiest of monkeys.

Big animals keep warm more
easily than small ones, and they

survive in colder conditions
than any other monkey on Earth.

They all have snub noses. Perhaps prominent
ones would only too easily get frostbitten.

The whole group huddles together at
the slightest opportunity to keep warm.

And who wouldn't?

Even adults, if they get separated
from the group, can freeze to death.

Now, in the depths of winter,
food is desperately hard to find.

The head of the family
leads them to the edge of their

territory in search of something
to eat. The only food here

is wretchedly unnourishing.
Bark, moss, and lichen. There's

hardly enough to sustain
one monkey, let alone a family.

But they share it peaceably.

Survival depends on the
group keeping together.

In these mountains, any food is precious.

A rival group.

They too are searching for food.

The two males go head to head.

The two males go head to head.

And now the females join the fray.

Outnumbered the intruder's retreat,

their leader is the last to go.

The fight was over the
smallest of meals, but it was

ferocious nonetheless, and
the family is now scattered. But

they must stay together. The
youngest are already badly chilled.

She can see her father, but has
she the strength to reach him?

She can see her father, but has
she the strength to reach him?

Back to safety and warmth.

The huddle is the only source of
warmth in these bleak, frozen forests.

To the west of the Himalayas, in Iran,
lies some of the hottest deserts on Earth.

This is the Lut Desert, and here
temperatures can reach 70 degrees Celsius.

The blisteringly hot
rocks and baking sands

of Iran's deserts may
appear totally lifeless.

But a few trees manage to grow
in the shade of the canyon walls.

And here, at least, migrating birds
passing through can stop for a little rest.

A flycatcher. With luck, there
might be a meal of some kind here.

There are spiders in the crevices.
Not much, but worth having.

And there's something moving up there.

The bird was mistaken, it
was a viper with a lethal bite.

This species has only
recently been discovered,

and so far it has been
found nowhere else but here.

Its camouflage is so effective that it's
almost impossible to see it on these rocks.

And on its tail, movable scales have
been modified to look like a spider's legs.

And its tip, like an abdomen.

Migrating birds only appear in this barren
desert during a few weeks of the year.

This is the snake's only
chance to eat for months.

A shrike. It has flown here from
Africa and hasn't fed for days.

This is the snake's
only chance to eat for

months. It has flown
here from Africa and hasn't

fed for

days. Better luck next time.

Conditions are almost as harsh
on the dry plains of northern India.

A male Sarada lizard does his best to
get himself noticed. It's breeding time.

The wide open spaces
are a good place to be seen.

He's only seven centimeters tall, but a
rock will help to make him conspicuous.

And he's already been
noticed by one female.

It's time for him to show off.

The more healthy and virile
he is, the brighter his colors are.

And females like bright, flashy colors.

But he, it seems, is not as
conspicuous as he might be.

In the neighboring
territory, there's

another male who's
found an even bigger rock.

So the newcomer is not making
quite such a good impression.

The one on the big rock
is attracting all the females.

The newcomer will need a
higher platform if he's to be seen

by a female and he'd better
do something about it. He only

lives for a year.

This is his one chance.

He will have to fight if necessary.

His rival isn't backing down.

Sarada males can fight to the death.

This is his one chance.

This is his one chance.
The newcomer has won.

Now he can claim the high
platform and the best territory.

And the females will
choose him for a partner

as long as he can fight
off the other claimants.

As the Himalayas rose
over millions of years, they

eventually formed a gigantic
barrier that prevented rain

clouds from the south
traveling farther north. And a

completely new weather system
developed in southern Asia.

The monsoon.

These drenching annual
rains transformed southern Asia.

Dense rain forests formed in
which plants and animals of all

kinds were able to proliferate and evolve.

Some of the tallest jungles
grow in Indonesia, the home

of the largest of all tree
living animals of any kind.

The orangutan.

There is a multitude of things to eat here,
but you have to know where to find them.

Young orangs stay with
their mother for years, learning

how to do that. This
youngster has only just started.

Termites, an important source of protein.

But perhaps they are an acquired taste.

He's off to search for
something he might prefer.

It's hard to know where to look.

Or where it's safe to clamber.

Different levels in the forest
contain different foods, and

some of the most delicious
are in the very highest parts of

the canopy, 50 meters above the ground.

He's a couple of years old, and
he's already getting adventurous.

His mother could climb right
to the top in 10 minutes or

so if she wanted to, but she
lingers to keep an eye on him.

A fall from this height could be fatal.

Where the gaps between
the branches are too wide for

him, his mother lets him
use her body as a bridge.

Only 10 meters to go before the top.

But it's hard going for small hands.

He's had enough.

Time for a rest with mother.

And this is his reward, ripe
mangoes, sweet and juicy.

There's so much he must learn.

He will depend entirely
on his mother until he's

seven. It's the longest of
all childhoods, except ours.

In these dense forests, it's
not easy for animals to see one

another at any distance, but
songs carry well through the

jungle.

This is the characteristic
sound that echoes

through the Sumatran
forest at every dawn.

But what can this be?

Of all the sounds in the
Indonesian forests, this is one of

the strangest to our ears. It
could be heard nowhere else on

earth.

And this is the singer.

A Sumatran rhinoceros.

She's tiny, only a fifth of the size of
her more familiar African relatives.

Her head could rest
comfortably on your knee.

She is the gardener of this Eden.

She doesn't just live in it, she
helps to create and sustain it.

She eats fruits and then
sheds the seeds in her droppings

and so spreads the foods
she prefers through the forest.

In this dense tangle, she uses
sound to locate a possible mate.

But her calls are unanswered.
She is living behind a fence for

her own protection.

In the past, Sumatran rhinos were
widespread throughout Southern Asia.

Today, there are fewer than 70.

It may well be that as she
approaches the end of her natural

life, she will have become
one of the last of her species.

Because in the last 40
years, one third of the forests of

Southeast Asia has been
destroyed in order to sell timber

and food products around the world.

The forests of Borneo and
Sumatra, home to the orangutan,

rhinos and thousands of other
species that have evolved here

over millions of years, are now in
real danger of being lost forever.

It seems that the animals whose
home this once was are worth

less to us than the land they
lived on. Viewed from space,

the scale of destruction is
only too obvious. Asia has

undergone a faster change in
the last 100 years than at any

other time in its history.

Its forests are being annihilated,
its cities are expanding,

and as the human population
approaches 4.6 billion, the

largest of all continents
is no longer able,

it seems, to allow
space for its wildlife.

The oceans around Southern
Asia are also feeling this pressure.

These seas feed billions
of people around the world.

For many fishermen here, their
catch is their only source of livelihood.

And there is one fish here
that they prize above all others.

The whale shark.

It swims slowly, gently
harvesting the plankton.

It's almost 20 meters long,
the largest fish in the world.

They are also under threat.
Like many shark species in Asia,

populations have declined by
more than half in recent years.

They are an easy and valuable catch.

But here, there is a respect for
the seas and their inhabitants.

Whale shark hunting has now been
banned across Indonesia's waters.

This whale shark plays a different
part in the lives of these fishermen.

They feed him, and the
relationship seems to bring joy

to both parties. And with
this new protection has come

something truly remarkable.

Whale sharks from far away
are seeking out these fishermen.

And in these safe waters,
there is a chance for their

numbers to increase.

And maybe one day, other
shark species will be protected too.

The people here have made a
simple but extraordinary choice.

Fishing in a way that is
sustainable for themselves and the

animals.

Caring for wildlife is surely
our shared responsibility.

Across this vast continent
and across the world, it is

decisions like these that are
key to protecting the planet's

most precious diversity.

Next time, a land of the unexpected.

The richest and most
diverse continent on Earth.

South America.

I don't want to walk alone.

I want to be here. Can you hear
my call? Has your love been to me?