Wildlife of Bahrain

Apart from a strip of the north and west of the main island, where crops such as potatoes are grown with irrigation, the land is arid.

With a very hot dry summer, a mild winter, and brackish groundwater, the plants need adaptations in order to survive.

It consists of a low plain with a central hill, the Mountain of Smoke, the highest point of which is 134 m (440 ft) above sea level.

Environmental problems in Bahrain include droughts, dust storms, the degradation of arable land, the desertification of the coastline and rising sea levels associated with global warming.

[6] The only protected area in the country is the Al Areen Wildlife Park in Sakhir, a nature reserve and zoo.

In this irrigated region, many species of plant grow that are not present in the arid conditions prevailing elsewhere, where vegetation is more sparse.

[10] Further inland, perennial plants adapt to arid conditions by being dwarf or prostrate, being deciduous, having deep root systems, reducing their leaf surface area, and having thorns and hairs.

Annual plants appear when rain falls, and pass through an accelerated life cycle to flower and set seed in a few weeks.

There are a range of habitats to which they are attracted including cultivated areas, open countryside, marshes, mudflats and mangrove swamps.

Visiting wetland birds include sandpipers, curlews and plovers, and the mangrove areas are favoured by egrets, herons, flamingoes, terns and gulls.