Honey Badger - Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia occupies over 80% of the Arabian Peninsula and ranks as the 13th largest country in the world, but there are no permanent rivers in the country. A wadi, an Arab term meaning valley or riverbed, will form after heavy rainfall, but they do not last long. The water either sinks into the ground or evaporates.

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Mellivora capensis - The honey badger is more closely related to the weasel than to the badger. The honey badger is known for its aggression, strength, and stamina. When confronted, it will fight any intruder regardless of size. Honey badgers are solitary animals, but they do travel in pairs during the mating season. Honey is their preferred food, but they have the least specialized diet of the mustelidae family; the family includes otters, weasels, and wolverines. Honey badgers will eat almost anything crossing their path.

Date Palm - Saudi Arabia

Phoenix dactylifera - The date palm is primarily cultivated for the fruit it provides. The date palm is a dioecious plant; it is either male or female. Male date palms do not produce fruit and are only viable as pollinators. In the wild, pollination is achieved by the wind and in cultivated settings, it is often pollinated manually. Date palms are an important food source, but a typical tree needs at least 4 to 8 years before bearing its first fruit and reaches a maximum yield capacity between 7 and 10 years.

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What had once been four separate regions under the control of local chiefs, emirs, and sharifs. The regions Hejaz, Najd, Al-Hasa, and 'Asir, were unified into one state through the conquest of Ibn Saud in 1932. His dynastic line continues to rule Saudi Arabia. The new kingdom seemed irrelevant in its first few years of existence, but when huge deposits of oil and gas were discovered in 1938, Saudi Arabia emerged as a leading exporter of fossil fuels.