Recent News
Environmental science scholarships awarded by BZSMonday, August 30, 2021
A group of environmental science students have had their hard work rewarded with scholarships from the Bermuda Zoological Society.
BZS Awards Steinhoff Scholarship & Pye Award
Tuesday, August 24, 2021
The Bermuda Zoological Society [BZS] has awarded the BZS Steinhoff Scholarship to Caroline Alexander, Isabella Murdoch, and Treiana Zuill, while Freyja Kermode was the recipient of the Pye award.
Collapse of seagrass beds threatens survival of marine life
Tuesday, August 17, 2021
The Bermuda Turtle Project is anxious to get back out onto the water this month to get a clearer picture of sea turtle abundance. Due to the restrictions brought upon us all by the pandemic, we have been unable to do any in-water research for nearly two years and it would appear, from observations, there have been some drastic changes in our marine environment.
Seagrass beds have ‘completely collapsed’ in last four years
Tuesday, August 17, 2021
Many acres of seagrass beds crucial for the survival of sea turtles and other marine life have “completely collapsed” over the last four years, according to a leading environmental group.
BZS’s Kids on the Reef programme: an insider’s look
Wednesday, August 11, 2021
The Bermuda Zoological Society recently completed its ninth year of the Kids on the Reef programme, which is generously sponsored by AXA XL. This year, the BZS sent Megan Dodd, a university student studying strategic communications and marketing, out with a student group so that she could provide a first-hand account of what the students experience and learn over the two-day programme.
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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 Jessie Moniz Hardy
Published Oct 23, 2014 at 8:00 am (Updated Oct 22, 2014 at 10:32 pm)
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.
Safe hands: Dennis Whitehead rescuing
Cliffy the longtail during a storm that
flooded his burrow with seawater
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.