All language subtitles for Seven.Worlds.One.Planet.S01E02.Asia.WEBRip.x264-ION10.en

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 feeding grounds where they can rest

are a few beaches, such as this one.

100,000 of them, almost the entire
world population, are here.

They are gigantic.

A male can weigh over a tonne...

(ALL GRUNT)

...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 metres 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.

Inland, 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 Shennongjia,
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.

(MONKEYS SCREECH)

A rival group.

They, too, are searching for food.

The two males go head to head.

(MONKEYS SCREECH)

(SQUEAKS)

(SQUEAKS)

And now the females join the fray.

(MONKEYS SCREECH)

Outnumbered, the intruders 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.

(SQUEAKS)

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

(SQUEAKING)

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,
lie 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, moveable 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.

(SQUAWKS)

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 7cm 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 colours are.

And females like bright, flashy colours.

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

In the neighbouring 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.

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.

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

As the Himalayas rose
over millions of years,

they eventually formed a gigantic barrier

that prevented rain clouds
from the south travelling farther north...

...and a completely new weather system
developed in Southern Asia.

The monsoon.

These drenching annual rains
transformed Southern Asia.

Dense rainforests 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 orang-utan.

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 metres 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 ten 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 ten metres 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 mangos, 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.

(ANIMALS CALL)

This is the characteristic sound

that echoes through the Sumatran forest
at every dawn.

(RESONANT CALL)

But what can this be?

(CALL CONTINUES)

Of all the sounds
in the Indonesian forests,

this is one of the strangest to our ears.

It can be heard nowhere else on Earth.

(RESONANT CALL)

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.

(CALL CONTINUES)

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 orang-utan, rhinos

and thousands of other species that have
evolved here over millions of years...

...are now in real danger of being lost
for ever.

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 metres 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.

I first went in search of orang-utan
in 1956.

Then, there were around 175,000
living in the remote forests of Borneo.

ARCHIVE: I found on the forest floor
the rinds and cores of durian fruit,

which I knew was the favourite
food of orang-utan.

Then we heard a crashing
in the branches ahead

and high up in the trees
we saw a great furry red form.

He seemed enormous.

He was probably almost five feet high.

In the 60 years since, I've returned
to Borneo on many occasions

to film and document its wildlife.

But during that time,

the island's orang-utan population
has more than halved,

leaving them endangered...

...and finding them in their natural
habitat has become ever more difficult.

The cause of this decline was
evident during a visit in 2012.

When I first came
to this river in Borneo in 1956,

the rainforest stretched unbroken
on either side of the river

for hundreds of miles.

Today, it's very different.

DAVID ATTENBOROUGH:
Now only patches of forest remain,

so to film orang-utan in the wild
the Seven Worlds crew

joined a research team heading
for the Gunung Palung National Park.

This 400-square-mile area is home

to Borneo's largest remaining
wild orang-utan population.

Here, they are protected and studied.

The crew follow a mother,
known to researchers as Bibi,

and her infant Bayas
as she teaches him how to find food.

Like all orang-utan mothers,
Bibi has to work hard to raise Bayas,

and this means she may only have
four or five infants in her lifetime.

This low number of babies

means it's hard for orang-utan
to recover from population decline.

Researchers want to know why
orang-utan give birth so rarely.

Today, they're following a young female,
Walimah, to find out if she's pregnant...

...but to do this, they'll have
to put themselves in the firing line.

So what we do is we...
we have to wait till she pees,

and we have a bag on a fishing pole,

and when she starts to go,
we run over there and try to catch it.

Yeah, a few years ago
I was featured in a magazine

as the top ten worst jobs in science -
it was kind of a joke -

but, you know,
orang-utan pee-collector was number one.

So, not too...not, er...
not too glamorous, apparently.

Research is starting to show
an important pattern.

The orang-utan can only conceive

when there's enough fruit
around in their home.

The team will now test the sample
to discover if Walimah is pregnant.

But the orang-utan
within Gunung Palung are the lucky ones.

Those beyond the borders of the park
face a very different world.

Many are left with no home at all.

This footage shows members
of International Animal Rescue

attempting to dart and sedate a stranded
orang-utan so it can be moved to safety.

Rescued orang-utan are treated,

but with each passing year, there are
fewer places left for them to go.

Since 1960,
the destruction of Borneo's rainforests

has been happening on an industrial scale.

Huge areas were
initially stripped for timber,

and then a very different type of tree
was planted.

Oil palm.

Today, it has become the most widely used
type of vegetable oil in the world,

and Borneo is the location of almost half
the oil palm plantations on the planet.

These uniform plantations can't support
life in the same way

as a rich and diverse rainforest.

But oil palm is very important to the
local economy and it's highly efficient.

Simply using another type of oil
might take up more land,

leading to more deforestation.

And this is where it ends up.

Palm oil is found in around half the
packaged products in our supermarkets,

as well as in biofuels.

The balance between our needs
and conservation is hard,

but we can offer a vital lifeline
for our forest relatives.

We may be able to protect them
through simple choices...

...like buying products made with
deforestation-free sustainable palm oil

from companies that support local people

using existing plantations
without cutting down more rainforest...

...keeping Gunung Palung's inhabitants
safe, including Walimah.

She did become pregnant
and now has a daughter to care for.

Their future will be determined
by the choices we make today.

Back in 1956, I never imagined that
within the space of my lifetime

these intelligent apes
and the ancient forests they have lived in

for millions of years
would be placed under such dire threat.

Just how much longer they will inhabit
the planet is up to all of us.

Next time...a land of the unexpected.

The richest and most diverse
continent on Earth...

...South America.