Recent News
Turtle Hill Golf Club & BAMZ Turtle ProjectWednesday, September 04, 2013
The Fairmont Southampton’s Championship Par 3 golf course, The Turtle Hill Golf Club, is living up to its name. The golf club was rebranded to the current name in October 2012 to portray an authentically local name, and to bring awareness to the sea turtle preservation efforts in Bermuda.
Back to school strategising
Tuesday, September 03, 2013
I love the smell of newly sharpened pencils. Never mind the thrill of buying a new pencil case! I have a bit of a ‘thing’ for stationery but particularly when it’s mixed with the buzz of anticipation that comes with the start of a new year at school.
More Reef Watch teams needed
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
The Bermuda Zoological Society is looking for at least six more volunteer teams to participate in Reef Watch on August 31.
Want to help with reef research? You can still sign up
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
There is still time for volunteers to sign up to this Saturday’s Reef Watch event which will use teams of volunteer citizen scientists to monitor the health of Bermuda’s economically important reef systems.
Countdown To BZS’s “Reef Watch” Event
Monday, August 26, 2013
Excitement is mounting as teams have been registering for the upcoming Reef Watch which will be held on Saturday, August 31.
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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.