Recent News
The Mystery of the Longtail ChicksFriday, July 01, 2016
Every year the staff at the Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo [BAMZ] rehabilitate and release a number of White-tailed Tropicbirds, which are almost always known in Bermuda as the 'Longtail' because of its distinctive tail feathers. Adult Longtails do not handle captivity very well, so the birds are typically cared for and released within a few days.
“Kids On The Reef” Educational Programme
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
The Bermuda Zoological Society, and lead sponsor XL Catlin, recently welcomed back Beth Neale of the I Am Water foundation for their fourth annual Kids on the Reef educational programme.
BZS Environmental Youth Conference 2016
Thursday, June 16, 2016
“Managing the Environmental Impact of AC-35” – that was the theme of the eighth biennial Bermuda Zoological Society (BZS) Environmental Youth Conference, which was held at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo on Monday 14 and Tuesday 15 March.
BAMZ Holds Grand Re-Opening Of Hall & Shop
Friday, June 10, 2016
The Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo held an official opening for their renovated Aquarium Hall and new retail shop “Scales and Tales.”
Aquarium Hall and gift shop reopens
Friday, June 10, 2016
The Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo has reopened its Aquarium Hall and gift shop after months of work.
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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!
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.
The first two chicks hatched from BAMZ residents
Kermit and Duane. Photos by S. Westhead
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.