fokisworld.blogg.se

• #Lake natron calcified animals color skin

Lake Natron has been listed on the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance due to its unique biodiversity and has also been recognized as an important ecoregion by the World Wildlife Fund. The lake enchants bird watcher’s across the world as large groups of flamingoes can be strutting around, the spectacle often referred to as the ‘pink parade’. The high salinity of the lake ensures maximum food for these birds as they feed on the tilapia and the algae. Lake Natron is the most important breeding site in the world for Lesser Flamingoes as 75 percent of the world’s population of these flamingoes are hatched at the lake.

An endemic species of fish, the alkaline tilapia, has adapted to the lake and lives along the edges of its hot spring inlets.

It is a drying as well as anti-bacterial agent so immersion in natron can suck all the moisture out of a dead body and preserve it against microorganisms that will feed on it.Īnimals that die here can turn into calcified statues over time, because of the unique chemical makeup of the lake, which encrusts the carcasses with layers of salt, sodium carbonates, and sodium bicarbonates.Īlso Read: Did You Know That World’s Only Floating National Park Is In Manipur? Inhospitable To Most, Thriving A Fewĭespite having the most alkaline waters, Lake Natron supports an ecosystem of salt marshes, freshwater wetlands, flamingos and other wetland birds. Natron, after which the lake has been named, is a mineral salt that ancient Egyptians used for the mummification process. High levels of evaporation cause natron to be left behind in its bed. Volcanic ash from the Great Rift Valley is collected in its basin, making the lake hostile to most organisms.

#Lake natron calcified animals color skin

The water from the lake also does not drain out to any river or sea. Lake Natron has an alkaline pH with as high as 10.5 and may cause damage to the skin and eyes of animals that arent adapted to it. Located in an arid region where rainfall is erratic, the terminal lake is fed by hot springs and small rivers. The salty crust, however, changes over time, giving the lake a different appearance each time. The lake gets its reddish hue from salt-loving microorganisms called halophiles that thrive in its alkaline waters and produce reddish pigments, which color the lake’s salt crust red. Lake Natron gets its highly caustic property from a million-year old volcano– Ol Doinyo Lengai, located just south of the lake.Īlthough Lake Natron is not a mystical lake that turns living things into stones, it still is a wonder of nature, and maybe because we have learnt how mummification works and how the lake gets its causticity, we aren’t that fazed by it, but I’m sure to the less educated locals of the African tribes, the lake is very unnatural.Also Read: This Lake In Uttarakhand Contains Hundreds Of Skeletons Belonging To 800 AD What Makes Lake Natron Unique? A calcified dove : Nick BrandtĪs if the photographs weren’t spooky enough, the lake always has a bloody red colour, owing to the bacteria and minerals found in it.

These calcified bodies were found washed up ashore by the photographer Nick Brandt, he then posed these bodies for his photographs, resulting in this brilliantly spooky set of images. The Lake water is piping hot, with temperatures usually above 40 degrees Celsius thus birds flying close to the surface of the lake may fall in and drown, the highly saline water then acts as a calcifying agent and doesn’t let the bodies of the birds decompose easily. When I saw these images for the first time, it looked as if these creatures were killed within seconds of contact with the lake and their carcasses lay still since then, however ,Flamingoes are known to dwell in these waters, so after a quick search, I knew what was up. Check it out : A ‘mummified’ bird, photograph courtesy : Nick BrandtĪ ‘mummified’ swan photographed by NICK BRANDT The images give off an eerie vibe and it seems as if the animals were mummified before they could escape. This is not the story of the Lindow man but have you ever thought of a lake that would mummify animals and birds before they’re able to comprehend what’s going on? Seems kind of amusing.īelow are some of the photographs of mummified animals at Lake Natron, a highly salty lake in Tanzania,Eastern Africa.