Recent News

World-class free diver to help BZS programme
Friday, February 27, 2015

Students are being offered the chance to learn about the Island’s marine environment from world-class South African free diver Hanli Prinsloo.


Regiment Volunteer Divers Take On Lionfish
Monday, February 02, 2015

A volunteer team of Regiment divers “declared war” on lionfish this past weekend.


Aquarium roof work on schedule
Thursday, January 15, 2015

Work on the aquarium’s new roof is over halfway complete and the project remains well on track, according to Dr Ian Walker.


Students Enjoy “Hands On” Learning With BZS
Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Whether for high school seniors about to head off to university, or preschoolers just beginning their educational career, the Bermuda Zoological Society [BZS] has been offering a wide variety of hands-on learning opportunities for Bermuda’s students for many years – and all free of charge for the students and teachers who attend.


Film star Douglas to narrate Ocean Vet
Monday, December 22, 2014

The announcement that Michael Douglas will narrate the upcoming Ocean Vet series is a fitting tribute to the man behind the nature documentary.



About

Governance
About Us
Newsletter
Latest News
Gift & Bookstore

Contact

General Inquiries

(441) 293-2727

info@bzs.bm


Latest News

All the latest updates and news from the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo, one of Bermuda's leading visitor attractions!

Choy goes to “Raw” at the Florida Aquarium
Bermuda Zoological Society
Friday, June 01, 2018


Excerpt WILD News June 2018.
 

BZS_180601_4a.jpg
Sea otters takes "selfie" with Choy Aming, BAMZ Aquarist

Last month BAMZ Aquarist, Choy Aming, was able to attend the Regional Aquatics Workshop - RAW - at the Florida Aquarium in Tampa, thanks to the funding from the Bermuda Zoological Society. The workshop took place from 14th-18th May, and according to Choy it was an intensive 5 days.

On the Monday, the attendees of the workshop were given an option to partake in an interactive animal welfare workshop, as the lectures did not start until the Tuesday. As the Florida Aquarium is a much bigger facility than BAMZ, they are able to have staff members that are specifically tasked with animal training, while other husbandry staff are tasked with the care of the animals and their enclosures. As a result, the animals at the facility are excellently trained.

BZS_180601_4b.jpg

BZS_180601_4c.jpg

Some of the trained behaviours were necessary for their care; the stingrays and grouper are target trained to make make it easier to examine them, and the nurse sharks are trained to rest on a 3ft deep platform within their habitat for similar reasons. 

BZS_180601_4d.jpg

BZS_180601_4e.jpg

"Even though it was clear that the Florida Aquarium training staff have far more opportunities to spend time training their animals, it was really nice to see what is possible with our smaller facility," said Choy. "It was great to watch and learn new and innovative training techniques and ideas that I could take back to BAMZ."

BZS_180601_4f.jpg
Grouper

For the rest of the week there were 20-minute Tedtalk-style presentations throughout the day, with 8-10 presentations happening per day. There was also the option to choose which presentations were the most relevant to attend. For example, there were presentations on water chemistry, which were relevant to staff of the many inland facilities in the United States as they have to create their own sea water for their habitats. As we take water directly from Harrington Sound to fill our aquarium habitats, these lectures were not necessary for Choy to attend.

BZS_180601_4g.jpg

BZS_180601_4h.jpg

BZS_180601_4i.jpg

BZS_180601_4j.jpg

One of the most convenient parts of the conference was that all of the talks were provided as videos to attendees after the conference was complete. Since returning to BAMZ, Choy has been able to share these videos and what he learned with his fellow Aquarists, and also some of the zoo husbandry staff.