“Lesser flamingoes have leathery skin on their legs, as feathers would be useless soaked with water,” explained Harper. For these organisms, the lake is a perfect barrier against predators.Įvolution has been kind to these animals, which have adapted well enough to withstand the harsh waters. A few species of alkaline tilapia are endemic to the waters, too. “But those that do live in enormous densities because there is no competition.” Nearly 2.5 million lesser flamingoes use Lake Natron as an exclusive breeding ground. “There are very few species that can live there,” said David Harper, a freshwater science researcher at the University of Leicester. Ancient Egyptians used natron extensively for their mummification rituals. Natron, for which the lake is named after, flows from the surrounding hillsides, and collects in high proportions as rapid evaporation rates reduce the waters into a rich slurry. The animals are calcified because a mixture of salt and minerals called natron, which completely dries out dead matter while simultaneously preserving it from bacterial decay. The phenomenon has received a lot of attention lately thanks to photographer Nick Brandt, whose latest book, Across the Ravaged Land, shows the result of this eerie ecological spectacle. But rather than decay, the lifeless carcasses are transformed by Lake Natron’s unusual properties into calcified, statuesque figures - pale and hardened like desert rock. When wildlife in the region die, there’s a good chance the bodies will fall into the vast lake and drift ashore. And although salt-loving microorganisms bloom in the lake, tinting sections a dense, violent shade of red, the waters are so hostile the lake is void of many of the types of plants and animals teeming around it. The shallow lake retains an average pH as alkaline as ammonia, and temperatures can sometimes rise as high as 140 degrees. Northern Tanzania’s Lake Natron has more in common with post-apocalyptic fiction than it does with the rest of the region’s peaceful mountains.
Artist’s masterpiece is a load of garbage Laura Geggel
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