Wonders of the Monsoon - Season 1

From India to Australia, all life awaits the transforming power of the monsoon rains.

Our story begins in the southern extreme of the monsoon region, northern Australia. It is the end of the dry season and 300,000 little red flying foxes gather to drink. They skim the river, collecting water on their bodies, but they run the gauntlet of Australian freshwater crocodiles that launch out of the water to catch them.

With a whisper on the wind, pre-monsoon showers come to Thailand. Assamese macaque monkeys play in the waters and gorge themselves on a monsoon delicacy of water snails.

To the west, in India, huge banks of cloud roll in, heralding four months of incessant rain. The rains trigger a dramatic response. Male Indian common toads are transformed yellow-gold for just one day. It is their big chance to mate. Within days, insects are everywhere. New filming techniques show, for the first time, how mosquitoes survive the impacts of giant raindrops. Fresh grass draws nomads and their vast herds of livestock back to their homelands. But they are stalked by hungry wolves and hyenas, which move in at night for the kill.

During the part of the year that the monsoon doesn't bring rain, the winds reverse, bringing instead dry air and even drought to large parts of the region.

Fed by the previous rains, budgerigars swarm in the Australian desert. They congregate at a precious waterhole. Birds of prey try to ambush them but are mesmerised by the kaleidoscope of yellow and green.

On the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, black crested macaques thrive in large troops. They are amongst the most 'loving' of monkeys, showing affection not just amongst close family, but across the whole group. A key reason is the abundance of fruit brought by the monsoon climate, providing enough for everyone.

On the beach, maleo birds, another species found only on Sulawesi, take advantage of the equatorial sun-heated sand to incubate their eggs before the storms come. There is fierce competition for the best spots. But some maleo birds bury their eggs in the forest, exploiting the underfloor heating provided by volcanic activity.

Our story ends as the relationship began - humans entered the region as hunter-gatherers. On the Philippine island of Palawan near Borneo, for part of the year, people still hunt in the forest and live in caves. As with their ancient forebears, their lives are underpinned by a closeness to and a spiritual respect for nature.