One of the most famous trees in the whole world, L’Arbre du Ténéré, also known as Tree of Ténéré, became known as the loneliest tree in the world. It was once a solitary acacia in Sahara desert. It was the only tree in a radius of 400 km. It used to serve caravan routes as a landmark.
In 1973 a drunken Libyan man knocked down the tree with his truck. The same year the dead L’Arbre du Ténéré was moved to the Niger National Museum in the capital Niamey. Ever since, there is a metal sculptor representing a tree on the same spot in the desert, which continues to serve as a landmark.
It was reported that the famous tree was at least 300 years old and his roots reached the water table of a near well, which was around 36 meters below the surface. The death of dead L’Arbre du Ténéré caused Nigerian people such amount of mourning and sorrow, that a year later the government issued a post stamp in order to commemorate the anniversary of the tree’s death.
SOURCE: [factswt.com]
