Ents are an old race that appeared in Middle-earth when the Dwarves did. They were apparently created by Eru Ilúvatar at the behest of Yavanna: when she learned of Aulë's children, the Dwarves, she foresaw that they would fell trees, and desired creatures to serve as Shepherds of the Trees to protect the forests from Dwarves and other perils. Although the Ents were sentient beings from the time of their awakening, they did not know how to speak until the Elves taught them. Treebeard said that the Elves cured us of dumbness, calling that a great gift that could not be forgotten. (They always wished to talk to everything, the old Elves did.) In the Third Age of Middle-earth, the forest of Fangorn was the only place still inhabited by Ents.