Recent News

Amlin donates $10,000 to Bermuda Zoological Society
Wednesday, October 02, 2013

Bermuda Zoological Society has received a $10,000 boost from Amlin Bermuda.


Amlin Donates $10,000 To Coral Reef Research
Wednesday, October 02, 2013

The Bermuda Zoological Society has received a donation from Amlin Bermuda in the amount of $10,000 for their ongoing work in promoting coral reef research and protection.


7 Year Old Boy Rescues Longtail In Distress
Thursday, September 26, 2013

An injured Longtail was taken to safety thanks to a sharp eyed 7-year-old boy who spotted the bird at Horseshoe Bay on Sunday.


Longtime BAMZ volunteer awarded scholarship
Monday, September 16, 2013

This year’s winner of the Steinhoff/Bermuda Zoological Society (BZS) $7,000 scholarship is no stranger to the Aquarium.


Hannah Gibbons Wins Deloitte Scholarship
Friday, September 13, 2013

Deloitte announced Hannah Gibbons as the 2013 Deloitte Scholarship recipient, valued at $15,000 per year for up to two years.



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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!

Thriving brown anole threatens skink
Royal Gazette
Thursday, November 02, 2017

Jonathan Bell
Published Nov 2, 2017 at 8:00 am (Updated Nov 2, 2017 at 6:05 am)

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The brown anole lizard in Bermuda (Photograph by James Stroud)

Bermuda’s endangered skinks are soon to cross paths with a thriving invasive species that already outnumbers the entire native population.

James Stroud of Florida International University said the brown anole lizard had been recorded “living in some of the highest densities of any terrestrial vertebrate on Earth”.

Dr Stroud’s report was shared with The Royal Gazette in the wake of an article on the lizard’s spread after the reptiles were spotted around Aberfeldy nursery in Paget.

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The brown anole lizard in Bermuda (Photograph by James Stroud)

Other clusters of the foreign lizard were found on the grounds of Belco and a lumber yard at Mill Creek, both in Pembroke.

The report, with Sean Giery from North Carolina State University and Mark Outerbridge from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, “conservatively” estimated there were 4,000 to 5,000 of the lizards on the island — dwarfing a total skink population of 3,500.

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Researchers on Nonsuch Island: from left, Mark Outerbridge of the Department
of Environment and Natural Resources, Sean Giery from the University of Connecticut,
and James Stroud of Florida International University (Photograph supplied)

The two species overlap “substantially” — both lizards prefer to stay on the ground, and eat the same ground-dwelling insects and spiders.

The scientists estimated that contact between the species might occur in less than ten years.

Brown anole numbers appear to reflect “an initial stage of invasion, and prior to exponential growth” — meaning the lizards could become a familiar sight around the island.

The brown anole, which is originally from the Caribbean, has spread around the world — partly because the lizards are popular as pets.