Have you heard that the plan to move an ancient boab tree to Perth has run into a few problems?
The tree apparently weighs almost three times as much as first thought. The bottle-shaped boab tree is being removed and transplanted 3 200 km from Warmun, in Western Australia’s Kimberley region, to Kings Park in the heart of Western Australia’s capital.
The 750 year old tree was estimated to weigh 14 tonnes. Instead, it was found to weigh a massive 37.2 tonnes. The project team has now found a bigger truck – a much bigger truck. The tree should arrive in Perth this weekend.
The tree is being moved due to roadworks in the area and it’s the first time that such a mature tree has been transported over such a distance.
Digging up the tree proved much harder than predicted too as it was embedded in granite rock, making removal extremely difficult.
They say that the boab is expected to live at least another 750 years after its journey and transplant. That’s not a bad innings for a tree. If I can get something to live for more than a couple of months in my garden I reckon I’m doing OK.
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