Recent News

Three Recipients: $100,000 Catlin Marine Grant
Thursday, April 24, 2014

The Catlin Marine Grant evolved from the reef-mapping work undertaken by the Catlin Seaview Survey, a series of worldwide scientific expeditions launched by Catlin in 2012 to document the composition and health of the world’s coral reefs.


Bermuda Aquarium releases Galapagos shark
Thursday, April 24, 2014

A 1.5m/5' Galapagos shark named Desmond has been released back into the wild by the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo.


‘Desmond’ the shark released back into ocean
Wednesday, April 23, 2014

A five-foot Galapagos shark named Desmond has been released back into the ocean by staff at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo.


Opinion: Ethical Question Of Dolphins & Captivity
Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Recently there’s been a lot of discussion in Bermuda on the issue of keeping dolphins in captivity; this appears to have been the unintended result of Dolphin Quest announcing the births of two baby dolphins amongst their captive population.


5ft Shark “Desmond” Released From Aquarium
Tuesday, April 22, 2014

As we previously reported, on Good Friday staff at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo [BAMZ] — in conjunction with the research and camera crew of the upcoming television series Ocean Vet – released a five-foot Galapagos shark named Desmond back into the wild, requiring an intricate transportation process from start to finish.



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Latest News

All the latest updates and news from the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo, one of Bermuda's leading visitor attractions!

UK Zoo continues work with Bermuda skinks
Bernews
Thursday, August 15, 2013

After finding themselves a new home in the Chester Zoo in the United Kingdom earlier this summer, the troubled Bermuda skink is getting a new chance at success as a species as zoo officials begin putting together a guide aimed at helping those with a hand in conservation services on the island to more easily breed and protect the highly endangered lizard.

Curators from the Chester Zoo returned 12 of the animals to their facility in July, aiming to study them in order to determine best practices in helping them to survive long into the future despite their heavily depleted numbers on the island. Now, with a month of general study behind them, the zoo’s experts will begin compiling something of a how-to guide concerning how best to rear and care for the lizards in captivity, aiming to help Bermudians with the same worthy goal to steer the creatures away from possible extinction.

The Bermuda skink, once plentiful on the island, has fallen victim to a combination of loss of habitat, the introduction of new predators such as cats and lizard-eating birds, and the general fragmentation of their populations. In order to combat these effects, local researchers are attempting to breed the skink in captivity, but not always to positive results; the upcoming guide to be produced by experts at the Chester Zoo aims to improve those results.

The six pairs of skinks currently residing at the Chester Zoo are just now entering their breeding season, and the UK team has set aside a year to study their habits and biology, and then microchip the lizards before they are released into the wild in order to track their survival rate.

Once ready, the results of the effort and the guide itself will be handed over to Bermuda’s Department of Conservation Services and the Bermuda Zoological Society in order to aid in their efforts to give the Bermuda skink a new lease on life.

Click here to visit the BBC’s Bermuda skink gallery of photographs