A bizarre, giant tree with a pair of leg-like trunks looks like an Ent from "The Lord of the Rings" — and it has just been crowned New Zealand's Tree of the Year after strolling past the rest of the competition.
The strange tree, which has been nicknamed the "walking tree" because it looks like it's striding across a field, is a northern rātā (Metrosideros robusta) — one of New Zealand's tallest flowering tree species that can live for up to 1,000 years. It's roots and long, arm-like branches make the tree look like an Ent — a fictional race of tree-like creatures that guard the forests of Middle-earth.
