{"id":1516669,"date":"2026-06-19T08:25:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T13:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/?guid=aa709e9075b1f600c0e475d0a7f189b7"},"modified":"2026-06-19T10:20:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T15:20:18","slug":"thousand-year-old-ancient-oak-tree-tied-to-robin-hood-legend-has-died-wildlife-charity-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/?p=1516669","title":{"rendered":"Thousand-year-old ancient oak tree tied to &#8216;Robin Hood&#8217; legend has died, wildlife charity says"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure><img src=\"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/wp-content\/media\/2026\/06\/ba2c6fade9cff09251e62ff6fccb9218.jpg\" alt\/><figcaption>Major Oak, RSPB Sherwood Forest Nature Reserve, Nottinghamshire, May 2026 (Ben Andrew\/RSPB)<\/figcaption><\/figure><p>(LONDON) -- A giant, ancient oak tree located in the the Sherwood Forest -- the iconic setting of the \"Robin Hood\" legend -- has died, one of the U.K.'s top bird and wildlife conservation charities said.<\/p><p>Famous for its enormous trunk -- about 36 feet in circumference -- and gnarled branches, the Major Oak was believed to be about 1,200 years old, according to the RSPB Bird &amp; Wildlife Conservation Charity.<\/p><p>The tree had been in \"visible decline\" for several years, the charity said and failed to produce any leaves this spring.<\/p><p>\"Whilst the tree's failure to produce leaves this year is heart-breaking for everyone -- from the many people over the years who have looked after this magnificent tree to the millions who have travelled here to see it -- we know the Major Oak will have a lasting legacy, first and foremost because it is so inextricably linked to Robin Hood and Sherwood Forest,\" Hollie Drake, senior site manager at RSPB Sherwood Forest, said in a statement.<\/p><p>The organization said it couldn't determine the exact cause of the tree's demise.<\/p><p>Among the factors cited were poor soil and a weakened root system as well as \"well-intentioned efforts to preserve the tree's impressive shape\" over the years, including metal bracing and coverings that prevented the tree from aging naturally, the organization said.<\/p><p>The group also cited the effects of climate change and recent heat waves and drought.<\/p><p>While the tree has died, the organization said the oak will remain standing in its place in the park, \"continuing as an emblem in the landscape and providing valuable?decaying wood?habitat.\"<\/p><p>In addition, acorns and cuttings from the tree have already been grown into saplings.<\/p><p>\"There are Major Oak saplings planted in locations right around the world, so we are planning work to ensure that its offspring will grow and generate their own acorns -- and legends -- for centuries to come,\" the organization said.<\/p><p>Copyright \u00a9 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Major Oak, RSPB Sherwood Forest Nature Reserve, Nottinghamshire, May 2026 (Ben Andrew\/RSPB)(LONDON) &#8212; A giant, ancient oak tree located in the the Sherwood Forest &#8212; the iconic setting of the &#8220;Robin Hood&#8221; legend &#8212; has died, one of the U.K.&#8217;s top bird&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6785,"featured_media":1516672,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/wp-content\/media\/2026\/06\/ba2c6fade9cff09251e62ff6fccb9218.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1504],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1516669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abc-world-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-21 10:30:37","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/wp-content\/media\/2026\/06\/ba2c6fade9cff09251e62ff6fccb9218.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1516669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6785"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1516669"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1516669\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1516673,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1516669\/revisions\/1516673"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1516672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1516669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1516669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1516669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}