National Geographic says the photos were taken by photographer Nick Brandt, who “unexpectedly found the dead animals that had washed up on the shore, preserved by the lake, and posed them as they had been in life”.

The lake’s water is a concentrate of a caustic alkaline brine due to its significant amounts of carbonate and low levels of calcium and magnesium. The lake’s high alkalinity can reach a pH of more than 12 and the surrounding bedrock is “composed of alkaline, sodium-dominated trachyte lavas that were laid down during the Pleistocene period”. But is it “deadly” for animals, turning any that enter its waters to stone? We investigated.Īccording to the Tanzania Tourist Board, Lake Natron is a soda lake where high levels of evaporation have left behind the minerals natron and trona. Lake Natron is a real lake in the East African country of Tanzania. “Any animal which enters the lake turns into stone-like structure.” “Natron lake in Tanzania is the most deadliest place for animals,” the text reads. A graphic doing the rounds on Facebook shows three eerie photos of grey, sculpture-like animals – a bat and two birds.

Lake natron tanzania animals