Inhospitable might not sound like the most appealing word to describe a tourist destination, but it’s precisely Lake Natron’s inhospitable nature that makes it the perfect spot for viewing flamingos. The elegant pale-pink birds flock here by the thousands each year, attracted by the safe and secure alkaline lake as a place to make their nests. It’s safe because of the lack of predators, who can’t survive in this searing, hostile environment when the only water to drink is both hot and high in pH. The scenery here is otherworldly: the lake’s cracked, red surface; the surrounding tall and barren mountains. Rather disturbingly, but also kind of fascinatingly, mummified birds can be found along the shoreline, calcified by the lake over hundreds of years.
Africa, flamingo, Lake Natron, travel, marsh, Tanzania, East Africa, animals, bird, birds, water, wilderness, wild animals, midget flamingo
David Oberholzer/age fotostock
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See the Flamingos at Lake Natron
Inhospitable might not sound like the most appealing word to describe a tourist destination, but it’s precisely Lake Natron’s inhospitable nature that makes it the perfect spot for viewing flamingos. The elegant pale-pink birds flock here by the thousands each year, attracted by the safe and secure alkaline lake as a place to make their nests. It’s safe because of the lack of predators, who can’t survive in this searing, hostile environment when the only water to drink is both hot and high in pH. The scenery here is otherworldly: the lake’s cracked, red surface; the surrounding tall and barren mountains. Rather disturbingly, but also kind of fascinatingly, mummified birds can be found along the shoreline, calcified by the lake over hundreds of years.
