Original subtitles

Mount Everest.

It's known in Nepal as Sagarmatha, or "Goddess of the Sky".

It rises to a height of almost 9,000 metres.

Those who succeed in climbing it spend only moments at the top.

Nothing can live for long on its summit.

But on many of Asia's peaks some specialised animals

and plants flourish in remarkable ways.

Asia is the most mountainous continent on Earth.

The peaks in the Himalaya may be the most dramatic of them...

..but in Southeast Asia there are mountains full of life.

Tropical forests grow here in abundance.

This is the Daen Lao range in northern Thailand.

And here, there is an astonishing gathering.

This is the largest flock of swifts to be found anywhere in the world.

The heavy rains have cloaked the land with dense forest

and carved the rocks into great caves.

The Tham Nam Lod Cave is big enough to accommodate

a 16-storey building...

..and its walls provide a home for over a quarter of a million swifts.

It's the nesting season.

Almost every available ledge and crevice is occupied.

Disputes for the few vacant sites are frequent.

And rivals only too often end up in the river.

Wet feathers make it difficult to get back into the air.

And there are hidden dangers here.

Keeping still is one way of avoiding detection.

Yet, the urge to fly is strong.

The giant carp

and catfish that lurk beneath the surface

are always hungry.

A pair crash-land.

One bird is pulled under...

..but some birds won't go down without a fight.

A second chance.

Its frantic splashing has already attracted more hungry fish.

A near-miraculous escape.

It was saved by the sheer strength of its wings.

The shelter of the cave is clearly worth the risks it brings.

For every swift that is caught by a fish,

countless thousands breed successfully.

And each evening, in the dwindling light,

the sky fills with adult birds.

The forest-clad peaks of Southeast Asia

stretch for thousands of miles.

But south of Thailand...

..the land fragments into islands.

In Borneo, one great mountain stands alone.

Mount Kinabalu.

Over 4,000 metres high, it was pushed up by forces

deep in the Earth's crust several million years ago.

Its slopes are home to a particularly inquisitive

little creature...

..the mountain tree shrew.

A strange plant grows here, with leaves shaped like little jugs.

A pitcher plant.

The shrew is enticed by the sweet liquid the pitchers produce.

But they are traps.

Insects are also attracted by their sweetness.

However, the surfaces are slippery

and the insects can easily lose their footing.

And there, they drown.

Their bodies dissolve and are absorbed by the plant.

The more insects the plant consumes, the bigger the pitchers it produces.

And the bigger the prey they attract.

But the shrew, of course, is far too big

and powerful to be caught like a small insect.

And it has a firm grip.

In fact, the shrew gives the plant a reward for its meal.

PLOPPING

Its droppings.

They, for the plant, are well worth having, for they're very nutritious.

The shrew pays regular visits

to collect the plant's sugary offerings.

And its droppings help keep the plant growing strongly.

It's an excellent arrangement, from which both plant

and animal can flourish.

To the west of Borneo, across the Bay of Bengal,

stand the fertile peaks of southern India.

The mountains of the Western Ghats.

They extend for over 1,000 miles along the coast.

And they're home to the largest of all Asia's land animals.

TRUMPETING

The Asian elephant.

This herd is on a journey to find new feeding grounds.

They're led by an old female -

the matriarch.

The whole family relies on her experience and knowledge.

Yet, over the last 150 years,

their home has radically changed.

The altitude and monsoon rains

make the Western Ghats an excellent place for growing tea.

Human beings, globally, drink two billion cups of it every day.

In just two elephant lifetimes,

the forest has been felled to make space for tea.

Nonetheless, it seems that the elephants follow the same paths

as were used by their ancestors.

But now, these paths run through fields of this very valuable crop.

The elephants, however, place every step with great care.

A single adult can eat over 100 kilos every day.

And yet they don't take a single leaf of tea.

They don't like its bitter taste.

But they do relish the wild plants that grow here.

So as far as the humans are concerned,

the elephants are clearing away weeds.

It may seem to be a harmonious existence.

But these mountains are densely populated.

Over 50,000 people work as tea pickers alone.

So living side by side can be difficult.

Yet the people have learnt to give the elephants space,

and the herds are adaptable.

Some matriarchs, however,

are now going where few elephants have ever been seen before.

They have become mountaineers.

Why elephants should choose to climb to these summits,

no-one fully understands.

It may be that they're attracted by the fresh grass.

Or perhaps they are simply trying to escape from the busy world below.

Either way, planting tea here

could have been a disaster for these herds.

But not so.

A quarter of all Asian elephants now live here in the Western Ghats,

making it home to the biggest population on Earth.

Over 1,000 miles to the west of India,

where Asia meets Africa,

stand the continent's hottest and driest peaks.

Those of the Arabian Peninsula.

In the far south lies the arid Dhofar range of Oman.

Temperatures here can reach over 40 degrees Celsius.

Animals of all kinds must shelter from such heat.

But summer is coming,

and its winds will bring moist air from the tropics.

As they meet the cool surface of the sea...

..the water they carry condenses

and begins to form vast banks of fog.

This is the start of a major change in the weather,

one on which life here depends.

The Khareef.

As it sweeps inland, the fog is deflected upwards by the mountains.

And within the clouds, a magical transformation begins.

One unlike any other in Asia.

The plants in Arabia's unique cloud forest

collect moisture from the air.

And, within only two weeks,

this parched land bursts into life.

It's a spectacular change,

created by the Dhofar Mountains.

Here, everything hastens to make the most of this new world.

This landscape is the home

of one of Arabia's best-adapted desert animals.

Camels.

They will nibble anything that is green...

..and plenty that is not.

As summer ends,

the winds of the Khareef dwindle...

..and vanish as suddenly as they arrived.

Now, life must wait until the good times return.

In Asia's mountainous centre,

the Himalaya stretch for over 1,000 miles.

They cross five countries...

..and at the range's far western end, in Pakistan...

..stand some of the most dramatic of all the Earth's mountains.

The near-vertical peaks of the Hindu Kush.

They're so inaccessible

that local people believe them to be inhabited by spirits.

Animals that live among precipices like these

must be skilled rock-climbers.

Markhor.

The biggest of all species of goat.

Over half the world's population live in these mountains.

Few predators can follow them,

for here, one wrong step can be,

and often is, fatal.

The first snows mark the beginning of the breeding season.

It only lasts for a couple of weeks...

..so the males do not have long to claim a female.

Time for a special kind of flirting.

She isn't interested.

But flirtation isn't the only requirement for winning a mate.

Males may have to compete for the right to breed.

They size one another up...

..using their metre-long horns.

When neither backs down...

..battle begins.

Undaunted by the perilous drops...

..they risk their lives

competing for a higher position uphill.

CRASH

200 kilograms of muscle collide.

All this male can do is brace and take the hits.

CRASH

If two males are equally matched,

the battle becomes a test of stamina.

CRASH

CRASH

After hours of fighting...

CRASHING

..both are exhausted.

It's time to call it quits.

And the winner is recognised.

This is what success looks like.

The Himalayan range runs from east to west,

and at its centre lies Nepal.

Of the ten highest mountains on Earth, eight are found here.

And the forests on their slopes

are home to perhaps the shyest of Asia's mammals.

Red pandas.

They're well adapted to life here,

with thick fur to keep out the cold.

This female is searching for food.

Bamboo can make up 99% of her diet.

But during the coldest months,

something appears that is much more nutritious.

And she knows exactly where to find it.

Kiwi fruit, otherwise known as Chinese gooseberries.

They're packed with energy...

..and only appear for a few short weeks.

So she eats all she can find.

After such a feast...

..she needs to do what red pandas do best.

She sleeps.

At the far eastern end of the Himalaya

stand the isolated Hengduan Mountains of China.

The forests here are home

to a particularly engaging species of monkey.

They live at a higher altitude than any primate other than humans.

The Yunnan snub-nosed monkey.

Why they have such tiny noses is not certain,

but perhaps it's because that if they were any longer,

they would get frostbitten.

They live in close family groups

and take life at a slow pace.

Spring is an extremely important time for them.

CHIRP

It's when the young are born.

They are among the most endangered of all primate species.

Each baby is very precious.

Everyone wants to hold the new arrivals.

The youngsters are dependent on their mother for over a year.

But after only a few weeks, some become...adventurous.

There's a lot to learn.

Watching how the grown-ups do things is a good way to start.

But finding your feet can be tricky.

For these two youngsters, today's lesson is particularly important.

It concerns the way by which one makes friends.

And having friends here is crucial.

As evening approaches, the families huddle together for warmth.

Temperatures fall well below zero.

Group hugs are not just ways of showing affection.

Frequently, they are essential for survival

in this bitterly cold habitat.

To the north of the Himalaya

lies the vast and desolate Tibetan Plateau.

It's bordered by the highest peaks on Earth.

It has an average altitude of over 4,000 metres.

And it is aptly called by many "the roof of the world".

It's home to the Tibetan fox.

This female has pups.

They're three months old, and their demand for food is never-ending.

PUPS TRILL

It's time, once again, for Mother to go hunting.

THUNDER CRASHES

The weather is wildly unpredictable.

And an icy storm can transform the landscape overnight.

She's looking for a small burrowing rodent called a pika.

Lots of them live here...

..and she feeds on little else.

PIKA SQUEAKS

But the snow makes her only too conspicuous.

The pika see her almost as soon as she approaches.

To locate her prey, she often relies on her excellent eyesight.

But she's also an acute listener.

She can hear the slightest movement beneath the snow.

Wait...

Wait...

Got it.

But one pika won't go far.

The weather is not the only challenge she has to face.

This is a busy time for the people who live here.

The lush grass is essential food for their hungry yaks.

The fox is little bigger than a house cat...

..so she could easily be trampled.

But this mother is cunning.

She keeps a safe distance

and uses the yaks as cover...

..as she creeps closer to the distracted pika.

Thanks to their mother's hunting skills...

..all three cubs will soon be able to survive on their own.

Wildlife has had to find ways to adapt to Asia's mountains.

But now, these peaks are changing.

They hold one of the greatest expanses of snow and ice

to be found outside the polar regions.

The Himalaya are sometimes called "the water towers of Asia".

Their meltwaters feed some of the Earth's biggest rivers...

..such as the Ganges and the Indus.

And they supply fresh water to countless numbers of people.

But temperatures in many of these mountainous areas

are rising faster than in lower lands.

As they do so, in some areas water becomes scarce.

In Nepal, the village of Samdzong

was once fed by a surging river.

But it's now reduced to a trickle.

With little water here, only a handful of people remain.

By the end of this century,

up to half the ice now found in these mountains

may have disappeared.

Life here has never been easy.

Yet, in the remotest parts of these mountains...

..there lives one animal

that is perhaps the most elusive of all.

Snow leopards spend most of their lives above 3,000 metres.

Each individual is largely solitary,

and wanders alone over vast areas.

However, very occasionally...

..their paths cross.

He has been following this female's scent for weeks,

and may have found a mate.

SNARLING

But she's cautious.

Eventually, he gains her trust.

HE ROARS

They spend the next four days together,

then their ways part...

..and they may never meet again.

A male snow leopard plays no part

in raising the cubs that he may have fathered.

These youngsters will stay with their mother

and rely on her for nearly two years.

It takes time to master the challenges

of living in Asia's highest places.

But the animals that do so...

..are among the most hardy and resilient of any on Earth.

To film the extraordinary world of Asia's mountains,

crews would spend more than 400 days in the field...

..getting up close with some of the continent's

most remarkable wildlife.

Filming would take them from the sweltering mountains

of the Middle East to the bitterly cold Himalaya.

My toes are frozen.

But there is a snow leopard sitting right in front of us.

But it was on the Tibetan Plateau, almost 5,000 metres up,

where the team faced their biggest challenge.

To film the Tibetan fox,

an expert crew was enlisted.

Cameraman Jacky Poon has been visiting here

for the past three years.

In doing so, he's gained the trust of one very special mother.

She might be getting a little old now,

but it's clear she hasn't forgotten him.

I can't believe... Watching Mum now,

I mean, she must be seven, eight?

She's so trusting of Jacky,

this is the fourth litter of cubs she's let him film.

We're probably less than 20 metres away.

It's pretty amazing how quickly they get used to us.

I think just because they saw Mum coming over and not bothered,

so they immediately know that we're not a threat.

And it's just great - they're not even looking at us.

Jacky is here to film a behaviour

he's never managed to capture on camera.

A Tibetan fox hunting, using the yaks as cover.

A month here will be tough.

Even in summer, temperatures can drop to -20 degrees Celsius.

In their remote hut, the crew must improvise to stay warm.

These are yak droppings, it's what we need to have fire.

Seeing as there's no tree out there, yak dropping is the best.

But as the crew embed themselves in the foxes' lives,

they are increasingly aware of a threat.

Feral dogs are common.

Unfortunately, it seems that the mother has already had a run-in.

She's not doing so well.

She's limping quite a lot.

Her left front paw seems to be injured,

and, yeah, she's not going very fast. It's not good.

Now she's hurt, if she meets another stray dog,

I mean, that's it for her.

Soon, the situation for the team goes from bad to worse.

THUNDER CRASHES

Being out in the open is dangerous.

Come on, Joshua. Go, go, go, quick.

Get in the car, quick!

Oh, it's crazy!

People are struck by lightning here every year.

Oh, my gosh.

The storm passes quickly.

Yet the weather remains poor for days.

And the mother is nowhere to be found.

She was last seen chased by the dogs,

so we're definitely worried sick

and hopefully we can find her this morning.

We're having snow in summer, and we can't even see that mountain.

Usually it's a landmark.

Oh, it's so cold!

Days go by without a sign of the family.

Can't see anything.

Definitely no Mum, nor cubs.

With only a week left of the shoot,

the chances of filming the mother hunting among the yaks

are slipping away.

But as the weather begins to lift,

the team finally receive some good news.

RADIO COMMUNICATION

That's Mum.

Found Mum up the mountain.

Oh, thank God for that, honestly.

I was so afraid that something's happened to Mum.

But, yeah, it's good to know she's alive,

but now she just needs to stay alive.

Although the mother is safe and well,

Jacky still needs to get in the right place

to capture her hunting among the yaks.

Oh, Mum is catching, right in there.

We don't want to scare the yaks off.

We should move around the yaks,

otherwise we're pushing the yaks further up.

With a cautious approach...

..Jacky is able to get right in among the herd...

..and films action never captured before.

PIKA SQUEAKS

Nice! Such an amazing behaviour.

While Jacky's relationship has made it all possible,

it also makes it hard to say goodbye.

Man, it's pretty crazy to think that the first year

when I was here she was younger than me,

in dog years, and now four years later she's actually older than me.

But Jacky hopes to return and once again be reunited

with this master of Asia's mountains.

Next time, journey to the frozen north of Asia...

..where some of the coldest places on Earth...

..push animals...

..to the very edge of survival.

SCREECHES

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