You wouldn’t think that flamingoes are extremophiles just from looking at them. It’s like somebody tried to build the vertebrate equivalent of that fungus that lives inside nuclear reactors, and ended up with a gangly pink dinosaur with a spoon for a face.
For everyone in the comments asking how flamingos are extremophiles:
Flamingos can survive in low oxygen, high altitude, high temperatures, low temperatures, high alkaline, they can and will drink boiling water and they can be completely frozen at night and still get up the next morning
Don’t fuck with flamingos
….. Didn’t know most of that
Huh… so that’s why zoos don’t put them somewhere warm during winter.
Oh yeah, this leaves out what I *did* know about them–they can also survive hypersalinity. That is, water so salty it kills practically everything else–water so salty it burns your skin.
American flamingos just drink that shit
(animal death) this is a real undoctored photograph of a dead flamingo on the surface of lake natron, a lake so salty and so alkaline that it’s naturally carbonated like soda and would eat through your stomach lining if you drank from it.
When this photo went viral years ago, most people assumed this poor flamingo must have been killed by the lake.
It is actually the lake where 75% of its global population are hatched. This is a photo from the same lake:
Fill your ears with beeswax and tie yourselves to your masts boys, else your ship is ours to wreck.
Traditionally, sirens had wings, the Greeks didn’t necessarily specify so I took some creative license. (Inspiration was from a vase painting ca 525 - 475 B.C.) Prints and other goodies available in link on bio through Society6
One of the Yucatan Peninsula’s most underrated attractions awaits for you in the biosphere reserve of Rio Lagartos: the lagoons of Las Coloradas and Ría Lagartos. Located in the Northern shore of the peninsula, north of Valladolid, this site is reachable from Mérida, Cancún and the Riviera Maya. In here you will find a series of lagoons of bright colors that change throughout the year, ranging from deep greens and yellow, to the intense pink color that they’re best known for. A combination of high concentration of salt in the water and the abundant presence of microorganisms are responsible for this spectacular phenomenon that will have you doubting if you’re still on planet Earth.
More than just pink water
The beautiful natural landscape of this area makes the biosphere reserve of Ría Lagartos a truly wild place full of life, perfect for you to connect with nature. Here you can find an abundance of birds of dozens of different species including the stunning pink flamingoes that arrive here in the months of January-September in numbers of more than 20,000 individuals. Besides birds you’ll see a rich variety of other fauna like reptiles and some mammals. Besides this, you’ll be able to explore the mangrove forests that are characteristic of this place.
You’ll find that the area has a lot more to offer than just natural attractions. This region is rich in history and culture; Las Coloradas has been one of Mexico’s most important salterns since Prehispanic times. There are also colonial haciendas and convents dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries, and Mayan sites from centuries before. Last but not least you’ll find here a paradise for any foodie: true local Yucatan cuisine.
Fill your ears with beeswax and tie yourselves to your masts boys, else your ship is ours to wreck.
Traditionally, sirens had wings, the Greeks didn’t necessarily specify so I took some creative license. (Inspiration was from a vase painting ca 525 - 475 B.C.) Prints and other goodies available in link on bio through Society6
Hey Tumblr. I kinda dropped off for a bit. Been traveling a bunch. Japan in November. Denver in December/January. I just returned last night from two weeks in Chile and Bolivia. And now I’m back in Denver for a couple weeks. How are you?
Here’s a photo from a 4-day trek in did in Bolivia last week. Yes, those are flamingos.
