Recent News

Returning shark brings slew of new data
Friday, September 07, 2012

FRIDAY, SEPT. 7: A tiger shark that was tagged in Bermuda in 2009 has turned up near the island again three years later.


Former aquarium shark enjoys life on the wild side
Friday, September 07, 2012

FRIDAY, SEPT. 7: Osbourne the aquarium shark seems to be thriving in the wild.


Video: Aquarium Shark Released Into The Wild
Monday, August 27, 2012

“Osbourne,” a 7-year-old Galapagos shark, was released into the wild in March of this year after spending the past 6 years at the Bermuda Aquarium.


Young conservationist’s career ambitions take flight
Saturday, August 25, 2012

Most Bermudians feel a justifiable familiarity with the iconic longtails that teem to the Island during the warmer months — apprentice conservationist Miguel Mejias gets to work alongside them.


Website allows the public to follow the travels of five turtles caught in local waters
Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Five unsuspecting turtles yesterday are participants in the Bermuda Tour de Turtles, a three-month race through the Island’s waters.



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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!

Breeding Success! Tawny Frogmouth Chicks
Bermuda Zoological Society
Wednesday, July 01, 2015

By Sara Westhead

There has been a lot of excitement in the Zoo over the past few months with the birth of three Tawny Frogmouth chicks.

The threesome are the offspring of Kermit and Duane, who have resided in the Australasia exhibit for the last one and a half years, having arrived in October, 2013.

Natives of Australia and Tasmania, Tawny Frogmouths are most closely related to oilbirds and nightjars. They are carnivorous, dieting mostly on nocturnal insects, as well as small mammals, reptiles and amphibians. They do much of their hunting at dusk.

In the wild, they typically breed from August to December, however, because Bermuda is located in a different hemisphere, this has been reversed to January through May. They typically form partnerships for life and will take turns incubating eggs on the nest, rarely leaving the nest unattended.

BZS_150707_9a.jpg
The first two chicks hatched from BAMZ residents
Kermit and Duane.
 Photos by S. Westhead

BZS_150701_9b.jpg

What makes these chicks particularly special is that Kermit, our male, has not previously been genetically represented in the tawny frogmouth population. His offspring are important as they will contribute to genetic diversity within the population that are in human care.

Also significant is the fact that Kermit is 18 years of age. In the wild, Tawny’s will usually live between 10 to 14 years, and in human care, there are only eight recorded males that have reproduced after the age of 17 years.

The oldest two chicks were born on March 21st, 2015 and March 28th, 2015, and are already on display in the Australasia exhibit, however they have been placed in an enclosure for their protection. The third chick was born on May 5th, 2015, and will hopefully be big enough to join its siblings in the near future.

The tawnies are a part of a Species Survival Protection breeding programme and the manager of that programme will recommend where the new chicks should be placed, in order to best maintain the breeding population. Those recommendations are generally issued annually, so for the next few months, they will still be calling BAMZ home.