Colony of breeding Lesser Flamingo (Phoenicopterus minor), aerial view. Lake Natron, Tanzania
Located in northern Tanzania Lake Natron is the main breeding area for more then a million Lesser Flamingos (Phoenicopterus minor). The hot and forbidding environment enables Lake Natron to serve millions of flamingoes as the ideal nursery; would-be predators avoid the saline lake and leave young birds in peace. The flamingoes feed on Spirulina (a blue-green algae with red pigments. As salinity increases, so do the number of cyanobacteria, and the lake can support more nests. Flamingoes must exercise caution, however, because the lake can turn deadly even to them. Depending on rainfall, its alkalinity can approach that of straight ammonia, and when the lake is flooded with water that has heated underground, its temperature can reach a scalding 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit).
Size: 5315px × 3534px
Location: Aerial view of Lake Natron Tanzania
Photo credit: © Ulrich Doering / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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