Every Birdy Must Get Stoned
Gizmodo has a fascinating and mildly creepy story about Tanzania&amp;#8217;s Lake Natron&nbsp;titled &amp;#8220;Any Animal That Touches This Lethal Lake Turns to Stone.&amp;#8221; It features the haunting black and white photos of Nick Brandt, who placed the calcified carcasses of dead fauna in &amp;#8220;living&amp;#8221; poses above the alkaline salt lake that was the likely cause of their demise. The whole gallery&amp;#8217;s got a very &amp;#8220;Weeping Angels&quot; vibe to it, eh?

There&amp;#8217;s just one catch. Lake Natron shouldn&amp;#8217;t&nbsp;really&nbsp;be called a &amp;#8220;lethal lake&amp;#8221;, because not every living thing that touches it turns to stone. But it is&nbsp;one of the most interesting bodies of water on this here planet, and a very important one, if you happen a flamingo.
Lake Natron is fed from underground hot springs, which keep its temperature near 50-60˚C. The shallow lake also has an extremely high pH, approaching that of an ammonia solution (pH 10-11). This is because of the high levels of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate that are dissolved in its sweltering waters, along with a host of other mineral salts.&nbsp;

It&amp;#8217;s those mineral salts that give the lake its name (&amp;#8220;natron&quot; is another name for a mix of soda ash and other minerals) and its rather lethal reputation. Most animals know that it&amp;#8217;s a good idea to avoid Natron&amp;#8217;s caustic waters, on account of how bathing in ammonia is discouraged by 10 out of 10 dermatologists. Fail to heed that warning? Brandt&amp;#8217;s photos show the consequence.
But as we have seen so many times, no matter how inhospitable a place on Earth may seem, Mother Nature operates strictly under what I call the Ian Malcolm Principle:

Numerous salt-loving algae call Lake Natron home, their pink and red hues staining the serene saline slough a shade of reddish orange:

This color (let&amp;#8217;s call it &amp;#8220;roseblood&amp;#8221;) is common in salt lakes around the world, perhaps