According to a report by Mother Nature Network, a large number of the oldest and largest baobab trees in Africa have died in the past 12 years, with nine of the 13 oldest having died, or are near death. In a new study published by the journal Nature Plants, scientists claim they cannot say definitively what has caused these ancient trees to die, but suggest that climate change is likely to blame. Study coauthor Adrian Patrut said in an interview with NPR, "Such a disastrous decline is very unexpected. It's a strange feeling, because these are trees which may live for 2,000 years or more, and we see that they're dying one after another during our lifetime. It's statistically very unlikely."