Life in the Rift Valley lakes is a delicate balance. The importance of these unique, and apparently hostile, wetlands is clear to see. Large-scale soda ash extraction, the report says, would be “disastrous for the species” and could see the flamingos become officially “vulnerable” or even “endangered”. Monitoring and protecting the population at Lake Natron is the top priority for lesser flamingo conservation, according to a recent assessment by BirdLife International. The latest mining proposal has been withdrawn but such developments haven’t been completely shelved.
#FLAMINGO LAKE NATRON SERIES#
Anthropogenic disturbances have previously caused lesser flamingos to abandon suitable breeding sites, and back in 1993, polluted water in Lake Bogoria and nearby Nakuru killed more than 20,000 lesser flamingos – the first of a series of recurring deaths. Given how slow flamingos are at adapting and changing to new nesting areas, any Natron development must be avoided. The same algae that gives flamingos their colour sometimes turns Lake Natron red. It would also make the water more choppy, affecting their food gathering. Mining would disturb the birds, who like privacy when breeding and tend to nest far from shore, on remote islands that have been isolated by flooding. Soda ash mining threatens the entire speciesĪttempts to extract sodium carbonate (a useful industrial material known as soda ash) from Lake Natron represents another danger. Populations of cyanobacteria can explode and the birds end up consuming new species which can poison them and cause mass deaths. If humans take too much water from a lake, or climate change causes excess evaporation, then salinity levels will become unstable. Wetland habitats have been polluted by agricultural chemicals and sewage, feeding and breeding grounds have been disturbed, and declining algal blooms mean some populations are starving to death.Įven a diet of toxic algae can’t save flamingos from ecological disturbances. Indeed, the number of lesser flamingos in the wild is already decreasing each year. Lesser flamingos’ Latin name Phoeniconaias minor means ‘little crimson water nymph’, an apt description of their dancing, ballet-style moves. With most of their eggs in one toxic basket, the lesser flamingo is unusually vulnerable for a species with millions of individuals. Having evolved in such a hostile environment with few rivals, they would have trouble adapting to a more competitive lifestyle elsewhere. Unlike many other species that can still breed in smaller populations as their habitats become damaged, these birds cannot easily survive in small groups. What if something happens to one of their highly-specialised breeding sites? Across the six flamingo species there are only 30 or so regularly used breeding sites worldwide and, while the global population of around 3.2m lesser flamingos is impressive, it is largely reliant on a few huge groups ( about 75% nest at Lake Natron alone). The species is happiest in huge gatherings, and these won’t occur around any old lake – the lesser flamingo specifically needs its toxic, salty paradise.īut these places are rare. Sheer numbers also make it harder for predators like hyenas or jackals to identify individual victims.Īs such, a single flamingo is not a happy flamingo. Mass synchronised nesting gives flamingos the best possible chance to raise the maximum number of chicks, while on choppy days a dense mass of birds swimming together also helps create the optimal feeding environment (still water) within the centre of the group. Million-strong gatherings provide several benefits. Two of the lesser flamingo’s preferred habitats, Lake Bogoria in Kenya and Lake Natron in Tanzania, are hypersaline and hostile to practically all other forms of life (Natron water can even strip away human skin).įeeding time on Lake Boringa. The lesser flamingo, however, can consume enormous amounts with no ill effects (unless you count their colourful plumage, which comes from a pigment in the algae). These poisonous plants produce chemicals that, in most animals, can fatally damage cells, the nervous system, and the liver. Most are found in super-alkaline lakes throughout Africa’s Great Rift Valley, which host immense blooms of microscopic blue-green algae (called cyanobacteria). One species, the lesser flamingo, has taken this relationship to the limit. And they are also home to one of our most familiar birds: the flamingo.Īll flamingo species have evolved to live in some of the planet’s most extreme wetlands, like caustic “soda lakes”, hypersaline lagoons or high-altitude salt flats. The world’s most seemingly-toxic lakes are under threat.
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