Christmas Day in New Zealand means summer, and while the kiwi shuns the sun, sea lions, penguins and dolphins make the most of the extra hours of daylight.

It's Mother's Day on the Indian subcontinent. For a mother Bengal tiger, it's time to train her cubs to hunt, while lions and cobras start the mating season.

On tiny islands in the tropical Pacific, Komodo dragons fight for leftovers and fiddler crabs joust on the beach. Under the waves, manta rays and walking sharks patrol the deep.