lagoon

Mr Auld-Thomas and his colleagues named the city Valeriana after a nearby lagoon.

These lagoons surge and recede with the tides and are an important habitat for migrating birds and native plant species.

“We bought it ‘cause of this,” she said, pointing to the serene lagoon at the back of the property.

Researchers believe more rainfall and flooding may have caused some brackish lagoons to become less salty, a trend which favors capybaras, since the animals are semi-aquatic freshwater mammals.

Several Palestinians living nearby have complained to BBC Arabic’s Gaza Lifeline emergency radio service of the overflowing waste water, stench and rodents coming out of the lagoon.