Mist steadily drifts through the lush, green, tropical forest surrounding South Africa’s Soutpansberg Mountains. Ferns and fungi grow untamed between the foliage in this forest, with the smell of wet moss and decaying leaves rank in the air. It’s in this environment that 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. She towers above the forest canopy, her branches bearing, long, thin, dark green leathery leaves, high above the ground, throughout the year.

This Giant belongs to an ancient family of trees that does not produce flowers, but instead reproduces by means of cones found on male and female trees. It is summer, and the Queen’s cones are round, yellow, fleshy berries, each containing a single seed. These resinous cones attract a troop of Samango Monkeys to the Queen’s branches. The tribe consists of a dominant male, his harem of females and their offspring They shove the yellow fruit into their cheek pouches so that they can enjoy it at a later stage.

At the base of the yellowwood, a flock of Crested Guineafowl pecks at the monkeys’ leftovers. The monkeys and the guineafowl often forage together… more eyes to look out for predators… Predators like the pair of crowned eagles that has just moved into the neighborhood. The couple’s nest is a massive structure measuring two and a half meters across and three meters deep.