Pretty in Pink – a Brief Study of Pink in Nature

1. Pink is pretty
2. Pink in nature occurs pretty rarely
3. Not including flowers
4. There are a lot of pink flowers

Today I’m going to look at 4 cool pink things that you wouldn’t expect to see in nature.

Number 1. Flamingos

Ok, you’d probably expect to see flamingos in nature. Though probably not in real life, unless you’re really lucky and/frequent a zoo on your off days. But I digress. What I mean by ‘flamingos’ is that they’re not actually pink by nature. Crazy, right?

A diet of crustaceans and plankton rich in beta-carotene results in the lovely pink hue of the flamingo feathers. Baby flamingos start out with gray and white feathers, and flamingos in captivity will turn white if not fed correctly. Pretty cool, I think!

Bonus fun fact: adult flamingos are generally between 4 to 5ft tall, but weigh about as much as an average newborn.

For more fun flamingo facts, click here.

Number 2. Pinky the dolphin

Pinky the dolphin is basically just what it sounds like: a pink dolphin. She has been spotted in Louisiana waterways for at least 7 years, and is rumoured to even have a baby! Pinky is a bottle-nose dolphin, and likely an albino, though it’s impossible to tell for sure without genetic testing (and I, for one, am glad Pinky remains in the wild without said genetic testing). My favourite thing about Pinky is her bubble-gum colour; none of this ‘looks a tiny bit pink in a certain light if you squint and use your imagination’ nonsense *ahem-amazon river dolphin-ahem*

Speaking of Amazon river dolphins, they’re also considered to be ‘pink’ dolphins, though it’s a trait shared by all, rather than unique like Pinky. Still cool, I suppose, but not as cool.

Bonus fun fact: Pinky has her own Facebook fan page!

Number 3: Lake Hillier, Western Australia

Looking at photos of Lake Hillier, I can’t help but imagine that it would be like swimming in a giant vat of pepto bismol. Or like that scene in Snow White and the Huntsman with Charlize Theron  sitting up from a bath of (what I assume is) milk. But, the colour of pepto.

A quick Google search will confirm that the above photo is, in fact, a good likeness of the colour. So pink! So pretty!

Scientists believe Duinella salina, a species of red-pigmented algae is responsible for the lovely pink hue. Apparently the water is only a little pink when you’re actually standing right in front of it (most people view it from the air), but Lake Hillier is also really really salty, so while it may not be as pretty, it would still be rather fun to float around in a giant pink lake.

I didn’t discover Lake Hillier until after I’d left Australia, much to my chagrin, but it’s certainly on my wish list for if I ever make it back to that side of the world!

Bonus fun fact: Lake Repta in Senegal shares the pink lake status.