Life on Earth is characterized by its enormous richness. Even today, much of its surface is covered with forests and jungles.

The jungles of Borneo and Southeast Asia are among the oldest in the world, at nearly 15 million years old.

Mangrove forests, which grow along the coasts in the tropics, are magical in appearance.

The south of Africa is home to an unusual forest that loses its leaves during the dry season. The Mopane tree - or butterfly tree - is the main exponent of this behaviour. In this peculiar landscape live elephants, hyenas and lions, and hidden among its foliage, the most striking of African wildlife - colobus monkeys, eagles and mousebirds.

The laurel forests of the Canary Islands are relics more than 20 million years old. They grow in the interior of some islands where winds carry clouds and mist. They are jungles full of strange and unique animals, such as Laurel and Bolle's pigeons, lizards, snails and birds of prey.

The Madagascan rainforest is one of the strangest in the world. It is inhabited by lemurs whose howls at dawn and dusk fill the woodland.