In northern Asia, life defies hostile extremes. In Russia's Lake Baikal, a seal pup must take evasive action when its ice den starts to melt. Hokkaido's thermal springs are a haven for dancing red-crowned cranes. On the Tibetan Plateau, a lone Himalayan wolf hunts antelope. Fish owls thrive in the forests where Russia and China meet. On the Kamchatka Peninsula, brown bears hunt salmon to prepare for hibernation. Elsewhere in Japan, bats hibernate beneath snow, while red foxes and sea eagles compete for food. In Arctic Russia, polar bears wait on isolated lands for the return of sea ice.

Asia's jungles are exceptionally diverse, but whilst they provide shelter, food and opportunity, they are also full of dangers and hidden threats. In monsoon forests, tigers tenaciously hunt their prey, and prehistoric-looking rhinos play courtship games akin to kiss chase. In tropical rainforests, female orangutans must search far and wide to find their perfect mates. And in the little-known forests of Iraqi Kurdistan, a new Persian leopard population is growing amid minefields.

In Asia, the most densely populated continent, animals have developed extraordinary ways to seize the opportunities of the human world. From tigers entering a city to hunt easy prey, to elephants stopping traffic to demand food from motorists.A small park in central Bangkok supports 300 giant lizards, whilst a flying squirrel in Taipei has made a cosy home in a school. Yet the changing human world creates unprecedented challenges – proboscis monkeys are forced to venture uncomfortably closer to humans, and swifts in Jerusalem face tough competition for nest sites.