Original subtitles

Across Asia, vast fertile lands support an ever -growing human population.

In Vietnam alone, the number of people has more than doubled in the last 50

years.

This is the most densely populated continent of all, home to 4 .7

billion.

And counting.

More people live in Asia than in the rest of the world combined.

Yet in this... crowded continent, human settlements also offer unique

opportunities for those animals that are bold enough to seek them.

Bhopal, Central India

During festivals, the city fills with life.

But in the shadows, a predator is on the prowl.

Lured here by the promise of easy prey.

A tiger, Asia's largest big cat.

This female needs to make a kill every week.

And the city has rich hunting grounds.

The occasional loss of livestock is tolerated by the

humans who live here.

And the tigress has learnt to become invisible.

Timing is everything.

She uses the same roots as the people, but never at the

same time.

And her stealthy strategy pays off.

She has cubs.

A litter of four.

Tiger mothers usually have only two cubs.

Quadruplets are a sign that she's doing well.

But now she's got her work cut out.

She must teach her mischievous cubs how to go unnoticed.

These urban tigers have learnt to thrive in the human world.

by staying out of the spotlight.

In Sri Lanka the largest of land mammals takes a very different approach.

Asian elephants live in higher densities here than anywhere else on earth.

To find enough food they roam for hundreds of miles.

But people are never far away.

That means new dangers.

But also new opportunities.

is tastier than leaves and grass.

And on this road, you can often pick up a full meal.

But there is one bull who takes things a stage further.

He doesn't wait patiently by the roadside.

Instead, he uses his four -tonne body to create a roadblock and

demand a toll.

When he receives a payment, he lets them pass.

His persuasive charm has earned him a reputation.

He's even been given a name.

Roger.

He knows which vehicles aren't worth bothering with.

And which have the potential to deliver a feast.

Raja's gentle nature has won many hearts.

But other bulls here don't share his diplomatic skills.

Their more assertive approach doesn't get them anywhere.

And now...

Despite the risks entire families are showing up

Elephant

numbers are on the rise in Sri Lanka Persuading people

to hand over their food will be an increasingly valuable skill

one there is plenty of time to learn.

This new behaviour is only possible because of the mutual respect here.

Such tolerance exists among people right across Asia.

including here, Nara, in central Japan.

During the morning rush hour, not all commuters walk on two legs.

Seeker deer are more than comfortable in this town.

They're free to roam wherever they please.

This mutual understanding has existed for generations.

A deer is believed in ancient times to have brought into the town a divine

messenger riding on its back.

Ever since, seeker deer here have been considered sacred.

And today, they're celebrities.

They are hand -fed with special deer crackers.

But every autumn, the peace is disturbed.

Males start fighting for females and become a danger to people.

To avoid accidents, their antlers are removed.

They will grow back in spring and their temporary loss allow the deer to live in

the city without risk of hurting anyone.

But those males looking for a mate now have a problem.

This dag search has brought him to the edge of the town.

A group of females.

Perfect.

but they are being guarded by a male from out of town

with an intimidating set of answers.

This posturing signals a challenge.

A slip now could cost him an eye.

Lacking answers, he's dependent on strength, skill,

and sheer determination.

Even without weaponry, he has beaten his opponent.

And the winners get a chance with the females.

India, home to more people than any other country on earth.

Over 1 .4 billion.

Half the population work in agriculture.

And here in the foothills of the Himalaya, the millet crop, is ready for

harvesting.

But a raid is being planned.

A troop of Himalayan lancers.

These fields contain the best food for miles around.

The prospect of such a good meal is irresistible.

The crops, however, are growing on the other side of a river.

And the only bridge is patrolled by dogs.

They regularly kill intruding monkeys.

The langurs' only option is to brave the rapids.

The dogs are closing in.

The baby has to cling on to its mother for dear life.

These monkeys have made it to a field full of food.

Much more nutritious than the wild plants that grow higher up.

But the langurs must be alert.

A male keeps watch.

The Nangas take refuge in the nearby trees.

But now they're trapped.

One wrong move, could be fatal.

But langurs are clever.

They create a diversion.

The older adults lead the dogs away.

And the others are able to escape.

Everyone is home and safe.

Agriculture in India has shaped the landscape for thousands of years.

Irrigating crops, requires an extensive network of channels, dams and canals.

These creatures occasionally create unexpected opportunities for animals.

In Gujarat, in the west of India, snakes are on the move.

These are checkered keelbacks.

and they have a particular destination in mind.

This drainage channel might not look like much, but it will soon be full of

fish.

And the snakes seem to know it.

Travelling upstream to reach reservoirs must pass through a narrow gap.

There the snakes await them.

But the only thing they seem to be actually catching is each other.

They don't have long to get their eye in.

The fish are only here for a few days each year when water levels are at their

peak.

And now there is competition.

That is just showing off.

Jackpot!

Finally, the snakes have caught on.

And now they're getting ambitious.

Going for even bigger fish.

But be careful what you wish for.

from one simple structure.

Human developments inevitably affect the landscape.

And here in Asia, that influence has become major and extensive.

Across the continent, people are building in all directions.

faster than anywhere else on Earth.

In just a few decades, Singapore has become totally urban.

And it's still expanding.

Today, two -thirds of the world's megacities are in Asia.

and some have spread so far that they've merged with one another.

In Japan, Tokyo has joined with nearby Yokohama and created the planet's

built -up area.

This is what is now known as a megalopolis.

37 million people have their homes here.

Such cities are surely the most unnatural of our planet's habitats.

Taipei, the capital of Taiwan.

Here, an animal normally found in forests now lives surrounded by the

concrete of a modern school.

On the fifth floor, inside the library, he's built a nest.

Between a window and its shutters.

It's quiet, warm and far from predators.

A great place for a squirrel to sleep through the day.

But when he wakes up, he has a problem.

Here, there is very little food.

To get to a tree where there might be some, he must travel from one building

another.

And that is dangerous.

But this is no

ordinary squirrel.

He has a superpower.

He can fly.

He has skin stretching between his limbs that enables him to glide for 150

metres or so.

But to reach his destination will be difficult.

Each take -off must be from as high as possible.

Because with every glide, he inevitably loses height.

And travelling over the ground is very dangerous indeed.

At last, the trees are in sight.

Just one more busy road to cross and he'll be there.

Finally, a meal.

Another Taipei resident manages to find all it needs without having to commute.

The rhinoceros beetle emerging.

in a city garden.

Males have only one thing on their mind.

Sex in the city.

This may seem an unlikely place to find a mate.

But there's something here that all rhinoceros beetles find irresistible.

Ash trees.

Lots of females are already here feeding on the sweet sap.

This male approaches them cautiously.

But he's not the first to arrive.

And some have much bigger horns.

Down, but not out.

Rhinoceros beetles don't give up easily.

But these ash trees have been planted closer together than they usually grow

the wild.

Which is why there are so many rhinoceros beetles here.

And more males means more battles.

With such a small horn, the odds of winning are low.

Sometimes you have to rely on stealth.

Waiting for the other males to start fighting and then sneaking past.

Finally, a female.

Rhinoceros beetles are one of a select group of animals able to thrive in Asian

cities.

Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, has a population of 10 million people.

Only 250 years ago, this was all wetlands.

And between the skyscrapers, remnants of that past remain.

This is Lumpini Park, and here swamp dwellers still survive.

Asian water monitor This young female is one of the smallest

in the park So her life here isn't easy

Males

dominate Some are over two meters long

are expert at fishing.

There are 300 or so living here, as dense a population of big lizards as you

find anywhere.

So competition is fierce.

This small female will need to be bowled if she's to get her fair share.

A catch as big as this attracts a crowd.

Their forked tongues enable them to detect a scent from half a mile away.

And soon, many huge males arrive.

The female is undaunted.

Despite her small size she barges straight in.

But as more males gather they squabble.

When you can't get a look in, other tactics might work.

Such as stealing.

This female now has her very own fish head.

And she's not giving it up.

There's so much food here that these lizards are thriving

And

seemingly finding little difficulty in living alongside humans

That is

not a common ability

Most animals need a more natural world.

And that is diminishing as a consequence of our ever -increasing numbers.

In Borneo, in just 50 years, the human population has tripled, whilst the size

of its forest has halved.

And one of the island's inhabitants, which lives nowhere else, has very

requirements.

Proboscis monkeys.

Their favourite food are the leaves of a particular species of mangrove.

The youngest leaves are the most nutritious, so the monkeys are

the move looking for fresh growth.

As the forest shrinks, these trees are becoming more difficult to find.

Now their search for food is bringing the monkeys into the human world

that lies on the other side of a 100 metre

wide river.

These pipes are the only bridge across it for miles.

But the monkeys don't use it.

They can swim.

The baby struggles to keep its head above water.

Made it.

But their journey is far from over.

And now they are in human territory.

To reach the trees they're seeking, the troop must cross the outskirts of the

city.

That brings them closer to people.

At last, on the edge of the city, their favourite leaves.

the dangerous journey has paid off.

But a tiny isolated patch of mancoves like this won't sustain them for long.

If they are to survive, they will soon have to find another patch somewhere.

Like so many animals from the wilderness, these monkeys face an

future.

But there is, however, one species that has become increasingly dependent on our

towns and cities.

These swifts have just travelled over 3 ,000 miles from sub -Saharan Africa to

Jerusalem in the far west of Asia.

In the heart of this ancient city, They nest in walls that have stood here for 2

,000 years.

The Western Wall.

It's one of the holiest sites in Judaism, and swift doubters have nested

ever since it was built.

the cracks between the stones are just the sort of nest sites that's just like

across

the middle east these birds rely on human structures

And if they can, they return to the same nest site each year.

This one is waiting for its partner to arrive.

They pair for life, but only come together for the short breeding season.

After nine months apart, they are united once again.

This couple are among the lucky ones.

They have a chance of raising a family this year.

But some will never find a home.

The urban world on which they have relied is changing.

Old buildings are being replaced by cliffs of glass and steel.

There are no nooks and crannies here.

With fewer places to nest, swift populations the world over are in

But every pair that breeds successfully brings hope for the species.

In this nest, good news.

The parents are now raising two chicks.

Growing youngsters need feeding every hour.

Swifts do everything on the wing, from catching thousands of insects to

collecting water, a task which requires very precise aerial manoeuvres.

In a few weeks, these chicks will also take to the skies.

They may then remain in the air continuously for three years until

mature enough to return and breed themselves.

As historic cities are transformed by modern structures, the birds will face

even greater challenge.

We should surely leave enough space for those few creatures in the world who

still choose to live alongside us.

Filming animals living alongside people took the Asia team into new territories.

Whilst most wildlife filmmakers work in the wilderness,

they found themselves in the busiest and

most built -up parts of the continent.

The challenges of filming animals in human habitats don't come much bigger

they did in Sri Lanka With

elephants on a busy road the

priority is to keep everybody safe We did a recce yesterday with Sam,

our incredibly experienced guide

and he's identified two elephants that are quite aggressive.

Just from that drive -by, it's fairly evident that they're quite aggressive.

That Tusker's body language was completely different. He felt stress

the road, and I felt stress being around him.

It's just completely unpredictable.

Interactions between people and elephants can quickly escalate.

In Sri Lanka, conflicts frequently result in fatalities on both sides.

Rangers patrol these roads and use firecrackers to scare the more

elephants away.

But not all the bulls here are the same.

The rangers introduce the crew to one whose calm nature makes him safer to

Oh, I think it's perfect.

That's great.

That's an awesome shot.

Roger.

He's got a very different temperament to all the other elephants we've seen.

He's the calmest out of all of them and the most confident.

Justine has 30 years of experience filming elephants all over the world,

she's never met an elephant quite like Raja.

Today he's decided to stand right next to the vehicle in a shady spot, which is

a bit tricky because I don't know where to put the camera.

It's proving difficult to get him to keep his distance.

There's no food.

No food, Raja. We don't have anything.

Look, nothing.

Usually, filming the close -ups is the hardest part.

But here, it's the wide shots that are tough.

Whilst Justine works with Raja...

Emma Louise wants to capture the action from a different angle.

From inside a bus.

The challenge with filming on a bus is that it's always a completely different

scenario. So no two buses are the same. The interior is completely different.

It's kind of getting a feel for how most buses are laid out.

You have different conductors, different drivers. The elephants are on different

sides of the road.

So no matter how well you think you've planned for the camera moves you want to

do, it's never the way you planned.

We're not allowed to direct or instruct the conductors or the driver at all

because they're driving a public bus on a public highway, so we can't ask them

to do anything.

Oh, wrong side, OK.

Meanwhile, Justine has enlisted help to get some much -needed distance from

Raja.

He's talking to Raja, basically saying, it's OK, we don't have anything, go back

to where you were.

I just seem to look at him.

The way he speaks is just gentle.

They seem to have a relationship, these two.

Now he's turned around, going back to his patch.

Thanks to the ranger's negotiating skills, Justine can get to work filming

at work.

I mean, compared to all the other elephants, he is the utter master of

scavenging.

He's a bit of a legend.

After hours on the road, the bus team feel like their plan will never come

together. I think we've been on about 38 buses now in total, maybe 40.

You need the perfect position of the elephant, you need the perfect position

the driver.

All the stars just have to align.

Finally.

persistence pays off.

I love it when a plan comes together.

That's really good. Nice.

In Sri Lanka, elephants

and humans overlap more than anywhere else on Earth, and so there will be

challenges.

The human -wildlife conflict or coexistence is a tricky one here, like

everywhere, at fighting over resources.

But here, the relationship is one of tolerance.

An attitude which the Asia team witnessed many times whilst filming

spectacular continent.

Next time, a journey into the arid heart of Asia.

Where life exists on a knife edge.

And each day is a fight for survival.

Seek solace and soothe the soul with the perfect soundscape of music from Radio

3. Relax and rejuvenate with Ultimate Calm on BBC Sound.

Ahead of a big night of musicals on BBC 4 tonight from 8, it's showtime here

next with the Strictly results.