Recent News

PwC joins pioneering Ocean Tech Mission
Wednesday, November 09, 2016

An Ocean Tech Mission to track “five iconic marine species” in Bermuda to help inform habitat protection at a policy level has been boosted by the news that professional service firm PwC will become a sponsor and mission partner.


Welcome to Callista
Friday, November 04, 2016

Generous donors have joined forces to help buy a new boat for the Bermuda Zoological Society.


Exploring mysteries of the deep
Thursday, November 03, 2016

Scientists often tell us we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the bottom of our oceans but Bermuda is at the heart of a mission that intends to change that.


Zoological Society Receives New Boat ‘Callista’
Thursday, November 03, 2016

The Bermuda Zoological Society recently purchased a new 30ft Beachcat boat, Callista, thanks to generous donations from Mrs. Diana Bergquist, the Stempel Foundation, Clarien Bank, Somers Isle Shipping and RUBiS.


Turtle project completes 49th year of research
Thursday, October 27, 2016

The Bermuda Turtle Project ­— a study of seas turtles in Bermuda waters — has completed its 49th year of research.



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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!

Goodbye to Cliffy
Royal Gazette
Thursday, October 23, 2014

By Jessie Moniz Hardy
Published Oct 23, 2014 at 8:00 am (Updated Oct 22, 2014 at 10:32 pm)

RG_141023_1a.jpeg
Settled: Cliffy the longtail after a failed attempt by Lisa and Dennis Whitehead to put him back in
his nest at Grape Bay in Paget. He is about one month old here

There’s a longtail named Cliffy exploring the world, thanks to the efforts of a Paget couple.

Dennis and Lisa Whitehead said a tearful goodbye this week to the longtail chick they rescued from drowning over a month ago.

“There was a nest in the cliffs just below our house,” said Mrs Whitehead, whose house overlooks Grape Bay. “We knew there was a chick in there and we saw the parents flying in and out of the nest.”

They suspected the birds were new to parenthood because the nest was a little too low in the cliff and too close to the ocean.

“A storm came up in late September and the waves were washing right into the nest,” said Mrs Whitehead. “We knew we had to do something or the chick would drown.

RG_141023_1b.jpeg
Safe hands: Dennis Whitehead rescuing
Cliffy the longtail during a storm that
flooded his burrow with seawater

RG_141023_1c.jpeg
Cliffy the longtail: All grown up and ready
to take on the world?

Longtail chicks normally take two months to fledge and leave the nest in August.“It was very late for longtail chicks. If it had been earlier in the season the proximity to the ocean would not have been a problem.”

Her husband clambered down to the nest and put the chick in a cat carrier.

“We put him back the next day when the sea had calmed down but the parents never returned,” said Mrs Whitehead.

They eventually fished the chick out again, fearing he would die.

“We took him to the Aquarium because we couldn’t feed him,” said Mrs Whitehead. “We did the right thing, because it turns out it is illegal to keep a longtail chick.”

Cliffy became one of six longtails being rehabilitated at the Aquarium. The Whiteheads visited him every week and were amazed to see how quickly he grew.

“I think he recognised Dennis,” said Mrs Whitehead. “Cliffy definitely would start to squawk and hop around when we visited.”

Just before Hurricane Gonzalo struck, Cliffy lost his appetite, a sign that he was ready to go off into the world.

Aquarium staff waited for the monster storm to pass, then released Cliffy from the roof of the Aquarium on Tuesday.