Recent News
BZS just misses out on award recognising use of drone technologyMonday, November 07, 2022
An island charity was shortlisted for an international award for its use of drone programming.
The Bermuda Zoological Society was nominated for a Drone Deploy Award for its use of Drone Deploy, an internet-based drone mapping programme.
BAMZ interns get hands-on experience in range of roles
Friday, October 21, 2022
Over the summer the Bermuda Zoological Society (BZS) had the privilege of affording a multitude of student summer positions at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo (BAMZ), through internship programme placements and volunteer opportunities. Within these roles the students were able to gain industry experience, explore the different areas of the facility, gain volunteer hours for their academic year, and acquire mentorships for their future within the industry of environmental studies and conservation.
Event to give young people a say in Blue Prosperity Plan
Friday, October 21, 2022
Young people were invited to provide input on how Bermuda can mitigate long-term threats such as climate change as part of a consultation on The Draft Blue Prosperity Plan.
We cannot give up hope, says turtle advocate
Friday, October 14, 2022
One of the highlights of the year for Gaëlle Roth is the Bermuda Turtle Project’s annual turtle round-up.
For two-weeks every August, D Roth, director of the project, scientists and conservation students, come together to capture, weigh, measure, examine, tag and release turtles in local waters.
Work of Bermuda scientists to be highlighted at New York event
Saturday, October 08, 2022
The Atlantic Conservation Partnership, a sister organisation to the Bermuda Zoological Society, in partnership with The Explorers Club NYC, will host Heart of the Sargasso Sea: Bermuda's Marine Conservation on October 13 at The Explorers Club headquarters.
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All the latest updates and news from the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo, one of Bermuda's leading visitor attractions!
3/19/2012 3:57:00 PM
Department of Conservation Services Press Release
MONDAY, MARCH 19: The Department of Conservation Service today announced that it has released its seven-year-old male Galapagos shark back into the wild for health reasons.
The Galapagos Shark is a species of Requiem Shark, which live in reefs like Bermuda’s, feeding mainly on bottom-dwelling fish and squid.
Due to their slow reproductive rate and heavy fishing pressure their global population is in decline and as such it is recognized as a threatened species.
For the last six years the 6.5-foot-long Galapagos Shark named “Osbourne” has been a star attraction in the Northrock Tank at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo (BAMZ), along with a Black Grouper.
About a year ago Osbourne started developing a rubbed rostrum (nose) in the tank due to competition from the grouper.
Aquarium staff tried to reduce the aggression between the two through various training methods but were unsuccessful and as such plans were made to return the shark to the wild this summer.
However, two weeks ago the hostility between the grouper and shark escalated and the shark’s condition deteriorated.
As a result Principal Curator Dr Ian Walker made the decision to move up the release of the shark for his well being.
Dr Walker said: “The decision to relocate the shark was not made lightly as sharks need to constantly have water flowing over their gills and can go into shock from stress relatively easily.”
With assistance from Dr Neil Burnie and Choy Aming from the Bermuda Shark Project, Aquarium staff and volunteers moved the shark onto a fast boat using a specially made sling and placed it in a shark transport box.
Once on the boat the shark was monitored carefully and had water pumped over it gills while it rested upside down in a relaxed state known as tonic immobility.
After arriving seven miles off north shore at Northrock, the shark was released over the side of the boat and aquarist Steve Davis and Dr Burnie monitored its progress from the water as it swam away.
Dr Walker said: “The whole process went very smoothly. Osbourne was released with a satellite telemetry tag, donated by the Atlantic Conservation Partnership, which will provide us with very useful information on his swimming patterns and to some extent his wellbeing.
“We wish him well.”