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Bermuda’s coral reefs ‘doing well’ but future is uncertainTuesday, August 10, 2021
Bermuda’s coral reefs could help to protect the island from strengthening storms – if we are able to keep them healthy.
BZS: Kids On The Reef Programme
Wednesday, August 04, 2021
The Bermuda Zoological Society [BZS] recently completed the ninth year of the Kids on the Reef spring programme, “an immersion programme teaching children the significance of marine conservation and the skills of free-diving.
No vaccinations for BAMZ animals, yet
Tuesday, August 03, 2021
The residents of the Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo have not received Covid-19 vaccinations, but that could change as research continues.
Mangrove forest project gets boost from Aspen donation
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
An environmental drive to create a coastal red mangrove forest on Trunk Island has been boosted by a $125,000 donation from Aspen Bermuda.
Support Creation Of Coastal Mangrove Forest
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
The Bermuda Zoological Society [BZS] has received a donation from Aspen Bermuda Limited to support the creation of a “Coastal Red Mangrove Forest” on Trunk Island.
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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.