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Stories from the perspective of some of the world's oldest living creatures - trees. Each tree is located in a completely unique habitat around the world, and hosts, feeds and shelters an array of animals in its embrace.
“Life... through the eyes of trees”
2018
Across rippled dunes, in the wind-swept grasslands of the southern Kalahari, a magnificent Camelthorn towers from amongst the blackthorn bushes. The tree stretches its branches towards the heavens as if to embrace the landscape around it. Growing from but a sapling, it has transformed into the imposing thorn tree it is today. The Camelthorn has been anchored to its spot in the Kalahari for two centuries. From the colony of Sociable Weavers that nest within the tree's grasp, to the larger herbivores that feed on the tree's pods, there is an abundance of life that visit the tree.
On the edge of the waterways in the Selinda Reserve, grows one of Africa's more exotic trees, a mighty Sausage Tree. The tree beguiles and entices an array of wildlife, from birds and insects, to much larger animals like the African elephant. For generations local healers in Africa have used sausage trees to help young men enhance their manhood, and young women to grow bigger breasts. This is the intimate story of the seducer among trees.
In the lush, tropical forest surrounding South Africa's Soutpansberg Mountains, we meet one of the world's most awe-inspiring giants, a 600-year-old Outeniqua Yellowwood. At 35 meters, she is Queen of this forest. There is an abundance of life that visit the Giant, from beautifully grotesque spiders that spin their webs amongst the tree's branches, to Samango Monkeys and Guinea Fowl that feast on the Queen's cones.
The arid, rocky terrain in Goegap Nature Reserve burns in the hot African sun. But not everything in the parched landscape is wilted and bleak, on the edge of a rocky outcrop, an enormous tree boasts with large, leathery, heart-shape leaves. Its pale, gnarled, crinkled roots feeling their way across the massive boulders it's perched on, some splitting the rocks in order to find water. This is a Namaqua Rock fig, a tree of myth and fantasy.
This is the incredible story of a tree that has been around for eight hundred years - that can withstand the harshest conditions - and that is more loved by insects, birds and animals than any other - an enormous Baobab rooted on the Savannah of Malilangwe Game Reserve in southern Zimbabwe.
2022
In the dark recesses of the Peruvian rain-forest, stands an unwavering Brazil nut tree - a titan among trees. For it to reproduce, this awe-inspiring pillar of strength relies on a series of intricate relationships with plants, animals and insects found in the wild. This means that the Brazil nut tree only grows in its natural habitat - the Amazon jungle. Without this incredible tree, many species will go extinct.
The air is thick and humid in the tropical forests of Mexico's Pacific coastal lowland. Woven into the landscape, a resilient Red Mangrove tree conquers the elements in a world repeatedly drowned by the tides. At 40 meters, this defiant survivor is among the tallest of its kind. Its tangled root system is a magical realm that provides shelter and food to an array of species, from fish, crabs and crocodiles, to some of Mexico's most exotic birds and mammals. In essence, the gnarled and robust Red Mangrove tree is a wild ecosystem inhabited by an assortment of creatures - a metropolis for wildlife.
The snow-capped peaks of Chile's coastal mountains are a prehistoric wonderland, blanketed in snow. Like ancient lovers, two living fossils - a male and female Monkey Puzzle tree - have been rooted to these slopes for almost two thousand years. For them to survive, the timeworn duo has formed a bond, both with each other, and the wildlife that visits them. But, the endangered Monkey Puzzle trees' future is uncertain, their numbers are diminishing. Can Chile's most revered trees persist against the odds when time has turned against them?
