Recent News

Flagler College visits Bermuda for Field Experience
Wednesday, July 01, 2015

Though only a small private college located in St. Augustine, Florida, Flagler College has some big dreams for their students in regards to protecting and conserving the environment.


Students facing their fears through Kids on the Reef
Wednesday, July 01, 2015

Awakening a sense of the wonder of the natural world in the lives of students is a vital component of the BZS Education programmes.


Reef Life HD featured on Bermuda Stamps
Wednesday, July 01, 2015

The stunning photography that is the focus of the BZS’s Bermuda Reef Life HD app will now be featured on letters and parcels posted around the world as the Bermuda Philatelic Bureau launched a new set of Bermuda Reef Fish stamps on May 21st.


Breeding Success! Tawny Frogmouth Chicks
Wednesday, July 01, 2015

There has been a lot of excitement in the Zoo over the past few months with the birth of three Tawny Frogmouth chicks.


Trunk Island Project 101 – Clearing the Invasives
Wednesday, July 01, 2015

The BZS purchase of the cottage and 2.4 acres on Trunk Island is a visionary achievement that compliments the educational mission of the BZS in so many ways.



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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!

Aquarium welcomes two feathered friends
Royal Gazette
Wednesday, April 22, 2015

By Simon Jones
Published Apr 22, 2015 at 8:00 am (Updated Apr 22, 2015 at 8:11 am)

RG_150422_1a.jpeg
From a land down under: Trisha Cross, head zookeeper, with one of the two tawny
frogmouths born at Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo, where staff hatched
and hand-reared the rare birds, which are native to Australia 
(Photo by Akil Simmons)

The Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo is celebrating the arrival of two new feathered additions to the animal population.

Two fluffy tawny frogmouths have successfully hatched and been hand-reared by staff who worked around the clock to feed and care for the birds.

For more than four weeks, experts in Bermuda have been in regular contact with specialists in Columbia, South Carolina, and in Orlando and Seattle to ensure the survival of the chicks.

RG_150422_1b.jpg
The two tawny frogmouths born at Bermuda Aquarium Museum
and Zoo, where staff hatched and hand-reared the rare birds,
which are native to Australia 
(Photo by Akil Simmons)
RG_150422_1c.jpg

It is the first time that these rare birds, which are native to Australia, have been successfully bred in Bermuda.

“It’s a huge moment for us, especially from the hand-rearing standpoint,” said Roma Hayward, animal care and quarantine officer.

“It has involved a great deal of collaboration with other establishments, including Sea World in Florida, the Riverbanks Zoo in South Carolina, and the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.

“Being part of the Aquarium and Zoo Association allows us to work with these other establishments and maximise the chances of successfully hand-rearing these birds.

“We also had staff coming in to watch and feed the chicks around the clock, especially in the early days when they had to be fed every two hours.”

Staff at the zoo removed the first chick from the nest after it had hatched on March 21, as well as a second egg.

RG_150422_1d.jpg
The tawny frogmouths born at the aquarium last month
(Photo by Akil Simmons)

The second egg hatched on March 28 and the two little tawny frogmouths have been cared for in an incubator at the zoo.

“What makes this even more exceptional is the father Kermit’s genetics and his age, too,” said Patrick Talbot, the zoo’s curator.

“He has not had offspring before, so his genetics are unique. He is 18 years old and passed the age that these birds normally breed.

“The parents share the responsibility of raising the chicks; however, as Kermit is a first-time father he is inexperienced.

“At his age there is also no telling how many more young he could produce and that makes these two offspring extremely important.

“We decided to pull the eggs to ensure the chicks fared well, which we could better guarantee by hand raising them. 

It is more than likely that both chicks will be sent to other zoos in North America for further breeding and to diversify their population of tawny frogmouths.

“The female, Duane, was brought in from Riverbanks Zoo specifically to breed with Kermit.

“Under the agreement we have with them, the first chick is owned by us now, while Riverbanks Zoo own the second.

“Where exactly these two chicks will end up, though, remains to be seen.”