![]() ![]() Blood-red from the bacteria that live in it, the salt lake is steaming hot, with temperatures that can reach up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the New Scientist. Other than serving as a breeding area for the endangered Lesser Flamingo and as a home to certain kinds of algae and bacteria, Lake Natron is inhospitable to life. “The notion of portraits of dead animals in the place where they once lived, placed in positions as if alive again in death, was just too compelling to ignore,” Brandt said of his decision to photograph the animals. Why did Brandt take pictures of dead animals?Ĭalcified bat. Quickly making their way around the web are these fascinating photos by Nick Brandt that show an eerie lake in Africa turning animals into stone. What happened to the bats and birds on Lake Natron?Īpproaching the shoreline of Lake Natron in Tanzania, photographer Nick Brandt faced an eerie sight: There, lying on the earth as still and stiff as statues, were calcified corpses of a variety of birds and bats that had met their untimely demise after crashing into the deadly waters. “Discovering washed up along the shoreline of Lake Natron, I thought they were extraordinary - every last tiny detail perfectly preserved down to the tip of a bat’s tongue, the minute hairs on his face. What did you think of the animals washed up on Lake Natron? The lake’s hypersaline water can strip away human skin, and breeds algae toxic to many forms of animal life, but the bird flourishes in these conditions thanks to its incredibly adapted body. Visit Lake Natron in Tanzania and you’ll find 75% of the world’s 3.2 million lesser flamingos. It turns animals to stone In the northern region of Arusha close to the Kenyan border lies Tanzania’s Lake Natron. Natron is also the only known breeding ground for East Africa’s millions of lesser flamingos which cover the lake between August and October. As beautiful as this lake appears, it is as dangerous. Why is Lake Natron deadly Apart from sometimes turning red, another reason that Lake Natron is so unusual is that it’s incredibly caustic (alkaline) from the nearby. There is good game viewing and birding in this harsh landscape with dry country species such as gerenuk, lesser kudu and oryx a speciality. As beautiful as this lake appears, it is as dangerous. The water’s alkalinity comes from the sodium carbonate and other minerals that flow into the lake from the surrounding hills. The alkaline water in Lake Natron has a pH as high as 10.5 and is so caustic it can burn the skin and eyes of animals that aren’t adapted to it. Animal and bird corpses can be found in and around the lake. “You’d literally get, say, a hundred finches washed ashore in a 50-yard stretch.Apart from sometimes turning red, another reason that Lake Natron is so unusual is that it’s incredibly caustic (alkaline) from the nearby volcano. I saw entire flocks of dead birds all washed ashore together, lemming-like,” he says. ![]() During dry season, Brandt discovered, when the water recedes, the birds’ desiccated, chemically-preserved carcasses wash up along the coastline. Brandt theorizes that the highly-reflective, chemical dense waters act like a glass door, fooling birds into thinking they’re flying through empty space (not long ago, a helicopter pilot tragically fell victim to the same illusion, and his crashed aircraft was rapidly corroded by the lake’s waters). Well, she might just be a myth, but there is an area so deadly that it could actually turn you to stone. A swallow © Nick Brandt 2013, Courtesy of Hasted Kraeutler Gallery, NYĪs you might expect, few creatures live in the harsh waters, which can reach 140 degrees Fahreinheit-they’re home to just a single fish species ( Alcolapia latilabris), some algae and a colony of flamingos that feeds on the algae and breeds on the shore.įrequently, though, migrating birds crash into the lake’s surface.
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