Recent News
Zoological Society To Host “Reef Watch” EventWednesday, May 27, 2015
Polar explorer and environmentalist, Robert Swan OBE, once said: “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”
Francis Patton overjoyed with BZS link-up
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Teachers at Francis Patton are celebrating as they have received some very positive science results after tests sat by their Primary 6 students.
In the land of the lemur
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Lemurs look cute and fuzzy but being an expert on them is no picnic. Travis Steffens has trekked for miles across hostile terrain in blazing temperatures to find them.
New Tawny Frogmouth Chicks At BAMZ
Friday, May 08, 2015
The Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo is now playing host to two new inhabitants, a pair of tawny frogmouth chicks born approximately one month ago to parents Kermit and Duane, inhabitants of the Australasia exhibit.
Zoological Society puts accent on history
Monday, April 27, 2015
“Educating tomorrow’s environmentalists,” is the mission of the Bermuda Zoological Society, and while impassioning and empowering students to protect and conserve the environment is important, it is equally important to the BZS to educate adults — especially those who are teaching the next generation. We desire to provide them with the understanding and skills to help them set an example of how to make a difference for our natural world
About
GovernanceAbout Us
Board of Directors
Contact Us
Newsletter
Latest News
Gift & Bookstore
Contact
General Inquiries
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!
3/19/2012 3:57:00 PM
Department of Conservation Services Press Release
MONDAY, MARCH 19: The Department of Conservation Service today announced that it has released its seven-year-old male Galapagos shark back into the wild for health reasons.
The Galapagos Shark is a species of Requiem Shark, which live in reefs like Bermuda’s, feeding mainly on bottom-dwelling fish and squid.
Due to their slow reproductive rate and heavy fishing pressure their global population is in decline and as such it is recognized as a threatened species.
For the last six years the 6.5-foot-long Galapagos Shark named “Osbourne” has been a star attraction in the Northrock Tank at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo (BAMZ), along with a Black Grouper.
About a year ago Osbourne started developing a rubbed rostrum (nose) in the tank due to competition from the grouper.
Aquarium staff tried to reduce the aggression between the two through various training methods but were unsuccessful and as such plans were made to return the shark to the wild this summer.
However, two weeks ago the hostility between the grouper and shark escalated and the shark’s condition deteriorated.
As a result Principal Curator Dr Ian Walker made the decision to move up the release of the shark for his well being.
Dr Walker said: “The decision to relocate the shark was not made lightly as sharks need to constantly have water flowing over their gills and can go into shock from stress relatively easily.”
With assistance from Dr Neil Burnie and Choy Aming from the Bermuda Shark Project, Aquarium staff and volunteers moved the shark onto a fast boat using a specially made sling and placed it in a shark transport box.
Once on the boat the shark was monitored carefully and had water pumped over it gills while it rested upside down in a relaxed state known as tonic immobility.
After arriving seven miles off north shore at Northrock, the shark was released over the side of the boat and aquarist Steve Davis and Dr Burnie monitored its progress from the water as it swam away.
Dr Walker said: “The whole process went very smoothly. Osbourne was released with a satellite telemetry tag, donated by the Atlantic Conservation Partnership, which will provide us with very useful information on his swimming patterns and to some extent his wellbeing.
“We wish him well.”