In the slightly less salty water around its margins, some fish can also survive. Nonetheless, Lake Natron is home to some endemic algae, invertebrates, and birds. African Lake Turns Animals Into Statues Tanzanias Lake Natron calcifies the animals that die in its waters, and Nick Brandt captures them with eerie. As isolated as the lake is (it wasn't even discovered by Europeans until 1954), there are no protections in place for the lake or its threatened flamingo population.įollow Marc Lallanilla on Twitter and Google+. Wildlife in Lake Natron since most animals find the lake’s high temperature (up to 60 C 140 F) and its high and variable salt content inhospitable. The serenity of Lake Natron - and its flamingo population - are threatened by a proposed hydroelectric power plant on the Ewaso Ngiro River, the main river feeding the lake. This algae growth in turn has fostered the development of Lesser Flamingo nests around the lake. While the alkalinity of the water can mummify the unlucky animals falling in the lake, cyanobacteria have made it their home and given the lake its signature red and orange shades. As shallow lakes in a hot climate, their water temperatures can reach as high as 106 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius). This salty water body makes life almost impossible. Both are terminal lakes that do not drain out to any river or sea they are fed by hot springs and small rivers. Lake Natron is one of two alkaline lakes in that area of East Africa the other is Lake Bahi. It is in the Gregory Rift, which is the eastern. The flamingos' nests are built on small islands that form in the lake during the dry season. Lake Natron is a salt or alkaline lake located in north Ngorongoro District of Arusha Region in Tanzania. During breeding season, more than 2 million lesser flamingos ( Phoenicopterus minor) use the shallow lake as their primary breeding ground in Africa. The surrounding area is also home to other species that can survive in this dry and dusty landscape, including kudus, oryxs, gerenuks, zebras, and ostriches.