Asia: Secret Lives, Hidden Places I

The rare one-horned rhinoceros is being poached in Kaziranga National Park. Herds of elephants are on the move and a new born baby elephant has lost its mother. Some people who live in Kaziranga are willing to risk their lives to make sure the wild animals stay safe. While others must guard their families against danger in the night.

Khao Sok National Park is framed by karst sandstone formations. Mighty ghost-like shaped rocks mark the shores of lake Khao Sok, a huge reservoir on which only a very few fishermen are permitted to live. Ancient caves are found in the watery depths and in the mountainous heights. The mountain range is laced with caves that serve as a dwelling for bats and, in the past, for humans as well. During the 1980’s students fleeing from the military regime sought a way to survive here in what is perhaps the world’s oldest forest side by side with elephants and monkeys.

One of the world’s most diverse reef systems off the coast of Borneo has just become protected - Tun Sakaran Marine Park. It’s a magical paradise where an ancient volcano once erupted. Hundreds of species of corals and fish live here and so do many people who rely on the sea to survive. But in Tun Sakaran Marine Park precious marine creatures now come first and humans must find new ways to live.

On the top of a smoking volcano, on the southern island of Kyushu in Japan, a Shinto priest performs rights that keep his community safe. 200 years ago his town was completely destroyed. The last eruption here was in 1991. Forty-three scientists, firemen and media workers died in the fire and ash. A volcanologist who witnessed the death of his colleagues is concerned. Yet another volcano on Kyoto now threatens to erupt. But nature has created rare beauty here. Water, fire and ash have provided life for animals and people. This is the story of how people live in the shadow of destruction, under the volcanoes of Japan.

The man who saved the last colony of Guizhou golden monkeys is getting old. He must pass responsibility on to the next in line. But will his successor be able to keep the monkeys safe? A Buddhist master has had the peace of her convent shattered. She needs to replenish her spirit on the peak of a sacred mountain but she is afraid of heights! Wild places still exist and peace can still be found in the world’s most populous continent.