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The ancient baobab of Africa, with its distinctive puffed trunk, is under a new and mysterious threat, with some of the largest and oldest ones dying sharply in recent years.
Nine of the 13 oldest baobabs between 1,000 and 2,500 years old have died in the past 12 years, according to a study published in the scientific journal Nature Plants.
The sudden collapse is "an event of unprecedented magnitude," according to the study.
Climate change, with its rising temperatures and increasing drought conditions, is a suspected factor but no definite cause is known. The deaths occurred in the southern African countries of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. "Falling trees are at the southern end of the baobab distribution," said Stephan Woodborne. Foundation, an author of the study. "What we think is that the climate envelope in which they exist is changing, and so we are not talking about the massive extinction of baobabs."
A woman and a child walk next to a giant baobab in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe. a photo of 2017 Nine of the 13 oldest baobabs, aged between 1,000 and 2,500 years old, have been dead for a dozen years (Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi / Associated Press)
Juvenile trees in the region affected are rare Woodborne said:
Baobabs are hot, dry savannah sites in southern Africa and are often found in areas where elephants live. , rhinoceros and other wild animals. Elephants help spread trees when they eat baobab fruit, with seeds that often grow in nutritious elephant dung. "Baobabs are obviously emblematic because of their size and shape and they are very distinctive on the African landscape – they used them for a variety of reasons over time," Woodborne said. "We find a lot of archaeological sites under these trees, and when we have trees that are more than 1000 years old, we are talking about occupations that took place several hundred years ago." [19659009] Storage of water
water in their trunk and branches, giving the trees their bulbous form. Tall trees can store up to 140,000 liters (37,000 gallons) of water drawn in during the rainy season. Thirsty elephants often strip a baobab tree of its bark and wood for moisture.
A child with a bucket of baobab stands in front of a giant baobab, in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe, in a photo of 2017. People also use the tangy baobab fruit to make drinks and mix them with milk to obtain a food similar to yogurt (Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi / Associated Press)
Trees are often worshiped by local religious ceremonies and communicate with their ancestors. People also use baobab fruit to make drinks and mix them with milk for yogurt-like food, or just shelter in the shade of trees for a sweltering summer day
"There have been no stores for a long time," said Anna Munzhelele of the Pafuri area near the Limpopo River in South Africa. "We would become strong … it's like a type of medicine, we derive energy from it. . "
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