Listen to eerie sounds coming from the world’s largest and oldest living organism

Scientists shared the terrifying sounds of Utah’s ‘Trembling Giant’ – the Pando aspen forest which consists of a tree with 47,000 ‘clones’ growing from a single root system.

The terrifying rumbling (here) are millions of leaves that rustle in the wind during a thunderstorm, causing the tree to shake on the ground, where microphones pick up the sound.

Pando is believed to be the largest and densest organism ever found, weighing nearly 13 million pounds, and its clones cover more than 106 acres.

The 80,000-year-old forest grew from a single seed and spread by sending out new shoots from the expanding root system, creating genetically identical stems.

Pando is located in Utah’s Fishlake National Forest, and research has shown that it has been regenerating for 9,000 years, making it one of the oldest organisms on Earth.

The sounds of this living creature were captured by sound artist Jeff Rice and Lance Oditt, founder of Friends of Pando, who placed a hydrophone in a sacred branch at the base of the tree and maneuvered it to the roots – about 100 feet below the surface.

“Hydrophones don’t just need water to work,” Rice said.

‘They can also pick up vibrations from surfaces such as roots, and when I put on my headphones I was immediately surprised.

‘Something happened. There was a faint sound.”

Rice wanted to capture the sounds of Pando during a thunderstorm, and when he put on his headphones, he heard an eerie rumbling coming through.

“What you’re hearing, I think, is the sound of millions of leaves in the forest vibrating the tree and going through the branches down into the earth,” Rice said during a presentation in March when he first shared the audio .

Pando is believed to be the largest and densest organism ever found, weighing nearly 13 million pounds, and its clones cover more than 106 acres.

The sounds of this living creature were captured by sound artist Jeff Rice and Lance Oditt, founder of Friends of Pando, who placed a hydrophone in a sacred branch at the base of the tree and maneuvered it to the roots – about 100 feet below the surface.

The hydrophone also registered with a low thump as they gently banged on a branch 30 yards away. Rice compared this to the classic can telephone.

“It’s similar to two cans connected with a string,” he said. “Except that there are 47,000 cans connected by a huge root system.”

Although Pando is a wonder of the world, a 2018 study found that it is slowly becoming extinct due to brutal human interference. Scientists warn it is unlikely to exist within 50 years.

Co-author Paul Rogers of Utah State University’s Wildland Resources Department said: ‘Although Pando has likely existed for thousands of years – we have no method to firmly determine its age – it is now collapsing on our watch.

‘One clear lesson emerges here: we cannot manage nature and forests independently.’

This decline has been caused by humans expanding into the forest and clearing areas without giving them time to recover.

Grazing deer have also put pressure on the park, and a prolonged drought has added to its demise.