Due to its unique biodiversity, Tanzania has included the Lake Natron basin in the List of Wetlands of International Importance since 4 July 2001. This is one of the only alkaline lakes in Africa and its waters do not flow into other lakes and oceans.
Being one of the few animals that can survive. In addition to this species, tilapia also occupy the lake’s hot springs. The reproduction of flamingos grows every day, since the greater the salinity of the lake, the greater the number of bacteria, and consequently, the flamingo nests increase in the region. They manage to survive in this region and feed on the cyanobacteria in the lake. The high mortality rate does not seem to frighten some species, such as the lesser flamingos. In the heat, when the water level drops further, the dead animals are left on the shores of the lake – left just as photographer Nick Brandt found them. Another factor that interferes is the temperature, the lake is in a very hot region, and its waters can reach up to 60 degrees, causing burns in the animals. The water level is naturally low, causing many birds, bats and insects – that try to cross the river, to end up falling and dying. Since the beings that die there are preserved and automatically become salt statues. Sodium carbonate was already used in mummification processes in Egypt, which gave the animals killed in the lake the reputation of mummies. This was caused by a volcano that is to the south of the lake, causing the ash runoff to run into its waters. This is due to sodium carbonate and other minerals, which end up in the lake, as a result of materials that come from the hills next to the river.
#LAKE NATRON TANZANIA SKIN#
The high caustic level can cause great damage, burn the skin and eyes of animals. The lake waters have an extremely alkaline pH, which is between 9 and 10.5. in salt and lasts forever”.Īccording to the American television program Discovery News, this has a scientific explanation.
Just like birds colliding with glass windows, these fell into the lake.”ĭavid Harper, an ecologist at the University of Leicester who has visited Lake Natron four times, came to a conclusion in his research on the site: “If a body falls somewhere else, it decomposes very quickly, but at the lake’s edge, it gets encrusted. No one is quite sure exactly how they die, but it seems that the lake reflects light a lot and this confuses them. In the post titled All Over the Wasteland, the photographer wrote: “I unexpectedly encountered the creatures – all manner of birds and bats – along the shores of Lake Natron in northern Tanzania. The photographer and expert on the African continent, Nick Brandt, produced some images of the statues of animals that died in the lake, his work went viral on the internet and generated curiosity to understand what this lake has. But appearances can be deceiving: its waters hold a fatal secret.ĭue to the rare chemical composition, the lake ends up petrifying the animals that enter it. About 32 percent of Tanzania's land is protected (the average for developing countries is just 13 percent), but Lake Natron's only designation is that of a "Wetland of International Importance" - a title that holds no enforceable policy power.Lake Natron, situated in northern Tanzania, close to the Kenyan border, in the Great Rift Valley, is one of the most peaceful places in Africa.
Despite this victory, the flamingos remain in a precarious position as the forces of climate change and human encroachment loom. Luckily for the flamingos, the plan for the soda ash plant was eventually defeated.
#LAKE NATRON TANZANIA GENERATOR#
One of the most recent threats to the Natron's ecosystem was a proposal to build a nearby soda ash plant, which would have extracted sodium carbonate from water pumped in from the lake.Īccording to BirdLife International, harvesting soda ash from Lake Natron "would not only affect the water levels and quality, and hence the breeding flamingos and other water birds, but also nature tourism, which is an important income generator in the wider area." Threats to Lake Natron and other lesser flamingo breeding sites across Africa are causing a "moderately rapid decline" in population, which is why the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has declared the species "near threatened." Needless to say, the flamingos have a pretty sweet arrangement, but this remarkable balance is starting to change as the area surrounding the lake is in danger of giving way to man-made development. Situated in Lake Natron, this tentalow is 2 mi (3.2 km) from Engare Sero Gorge and within 12 mi (20 km) of Lake Natron Viewpoint and Ol Doinyo Lengai. (Photo: Kjetil Kolbjornsrud/Shutterstock) A massive flock of lesser flamingos nesting on Lake Natron.
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