It appears to contain a stable ecosystem consisting of a population of endangered flamingos, some species of fish, and algae. Re-animated, alive again in death.”ĭespite its inhospitable environment, the lake is not lifeless. “I took these creatures as I found them on the shoreline, and then placed them in ‘living’ positions, bringing them back to ‘life’, as it were.
“The notion of portraits of dead animals in the place where they once lived, placed in positions as if alive again in death, was just too compelling to ignore,” Brandt said of his decision to photograph the animals. “There was never any possibility of bending a wing or turning a head to make a better pose - they were like rock,” he said, “so we took them and placed them on branches and rocks just as we found them, always with a view to imagining it as a portrait in death.”Ī fish eagle © Nick Brandt 2013, Courtesy of Hasted Kraeutler Gallery, NY The creatures, he said, were “rock hard” from the calcification. The entire fish eagle was the most surprising and revelatory find,” Brandt, who photographed these calcified animals in 20, told The Huffington Post in an email Wednesday. In short, Lake Natron may well be the creepiest graveyard in history.“Discovering these animals washed up along the shoreline of Lake Natron, I thought they were extraordinary - every last tiny detail perfectly preserved down to the tip of a bat’s tongue, the minute hairs on his face.
Either way, the eerie result is a shoreline littered with statue-like bodies-the calcified remains of dozens of birds and bats that foolishly tried to test the waters. According to one photographer who visited, the levels of concentration were so high it could strip the ink off Kodak film boxes “in seconds.” They might find it difficult to get out if they’ve stayed in too long, or they might be confused by the lake’s appearance as the locals claim. See, Lake Natron is absolutely bursting with soda and salt. Like a demented cross between Medusa and King Midas, it will turn any visitor that overstays its welcome into a creepy fossil. But Lake Natron isn’t content with just killing off whatever life tries to get a toehold in its ash-encrusted waters. With an alkalinity level somewhere between a pH of 9 and 10.5 and a temperature that frequently exceeds 60 ☌ (140 ☏), it could make a good punt for being one of the most inhospitable environments on Earth.
Lake Natron isn’t exactly a pleasant place. This effect is due to the extremely high salt and soda content in the water. Any animal that dies in its waters is preserved and later washed up on shore, appearing to be turned to stone. In the darkest recesses of Tanzania, a quiet lake hides a formidable secret.
“Oh, why am I not of stone, like you?” - Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame In A Nutshell
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