The internet equivalent of my bedside table...

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

(animal death) this is a real undoctored photograph (*though the body was stood up for the shot) 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:

RATING: RELIABLE

Flamingos can survive in high altitudes, hypersaline conditions, and caustic lakes.

Source: ‘All 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.’

They can survive water so alkaline it burns human skin.

Source: ‘More than a million lesser flamingos breed in Tanzania’s Lake Natron, for instance, a lake fed by hot springs with water so alkaline that it can strip away human skin (one pioneering flamingo researcher named Leslie Brown spent months in Nairobi General Hospital after burning his legs wading out to observe where the birds nested).’

They can drink water at near-boiling temperatures.

Source: ‘They can drink water at near boiling point to collect freshwater from springs and geysers at lake edges. If no freshwater is available, flamingos can use glands in their head that remove salt, draining it out from their nasal cavity.’

The lakes they inhabit can freeze overnight, and the flamingos can survive once it thaws in the morning.

Source: ‘The birds may seem to epitomize the tropics, but they also live in the Andes, 15,000 feet above sea level, where they rest on lakes that freeze around them overnight.

“You’ll see them sitting there like snowballs, frozen on ice,” Dr. Arengo said. “And as the temperature warms up, they thaw out, fluff themselves up and go about their business.”’

The photo is indeed from Lake Natron, taken by photographer Nick Brandt. The content of the lake chemically preserves animal corpses that die there. You can see more photos of this here.

It is also true that 75% of Lesser Flamingos are hatches on Lake Natron.

Source: ‘The lake’s landscape is surreal and deadly—and made even more bizarre by the fact that it’s the place where nearly 75 percent of the world’s lesser flamingos are born.’

Some species of Flamingo eat cyanobacteria or algae.

Zuppa Toscana

Ingredients

6 russet potatoes, sliced into half circles

1lb sausage (hot italian sausage recommended)

32 oz chicken broth

1 yellow onion, cut however you want

Garlic - think "what's a lot of garlic?" double that amount, minced

1 bunch kale - stem removed, tear it up (can be larger than "bite sized pieces", as they will wilt)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Seasoning - I do not measure these and I never will. Season to taste. (Paprika, Salt, Pepper, Oregano, Bay Leaves, Cayenne, Cumin)

Instructions

In a large soup pot, brown the sausage and break apart/crumble as it cooks. Throw the onion and spices in there, mix that all up and cook till the sausage is cooked thoroughly. Add minced garlic, cook for 1-2 min.

Add chicken stock and potatoes. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. I let it simmer for about 15 min, longer (maybe 25-30?) if you want the potatoes to break down more and create a chowdery texture.

Add the kale. Stir it in until wilted and doesn't seem like too much kale anymore. Maybe 2-3 min.

Turn off the stove. Add heavy cream a little at a time while stirring it in.

I usually substitute half-and-half, instead of heavy cream. (That's how mom made it. I might try the cream next time.) Spinach is a good substitute for the kale.

Obvious disclaimer that you shouldn't have wild animals as pets.

But like, cheetahs are the only large cats that keepers will do free contact with. Hell, even most small cats don't get free contact. (Because small cats can be VICIOUS. They'll have a baby pallas cat wearing thicker gloves than when handling an owl. Because small cats can just be vicious.)

Like I think the only other cat at our zoo where I've seen free contact with was servals? Because I know they've used servals in shows to demonstrate their natural jumping ability. But I know servals can sometimes have a mean temper as well. Meanwhile they'll do the cheetah run and afterwards put the mic by the cheetahs and it's just like an engine with them purring. It's fascinating to watch when the message in every other large animal is "no free contact because it's dangerous even when they're born in captivity".

Human Beings:

So, may I recommend:

Here's his actual website which I feel is easier to navigate than the YouTube channel on its own and organizes things in a way that's easy to understand. He explains everything you need to know about the routine and each individual exercise has both a text description and a video tutorial

getting high and craving fruits: orangutan munchies

getting high and craving pasta or ramen: ferret munchies

getting high and craving crackers or chips: cockatiel munchies