Recent News

Top lionfish experts to help Bermuda
Friday, October 05, 2012

FRIDAY, OCT. 5: The Western Atlantic’s leading authorities on lionfish management are to run a two-day workshop with some of the island’s key environmental figures next week. 


Story of the cahow goes international
Friday, October 05, 2012

FRIDAY, OCT. 5: The story of how Bermuda’s cahow was brought back from the brink of extinction will hit bookstores across the world next week.


Popular Zoological Society employee dies of cancer
Friday, September 28, 2012

Friends and family yesterday paid tribute to Bermuda Zoological Society’s educational boat captain Tim Hasselbring, who has died from cancer aged 38.


Young dad's death devastates family
Friday, September 28, 2012

FRIDAY, SEPT. 28: A heartbroken wife has spoken of her family’s devastating loss after the death of her husband from cancer.


'A visionary with an infectious enthusiasm for life'
Friday, September 28, 2012

FRIDAY, SEPT. 28: Tributes from Tim Hasselbring’s close friends and colleagues have poured in from across the island in the wake of his death.



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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!

Breeding Success! Tawny Frogmouth Chicks
Bermuda Zoological Society
Wednesday, July 01, 2015

By Sara Westhead

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

The threesome are the offspring of Kermit and Duane, who have resided in the Australasia exhibit for the last one and a half years, having arrived in October, 2013.

Natives of Australia and Tasmania, Tawny Frogmouths are most closely related to oilbirds and nightjars. They are carnivorous, dieting mostly on nocturnal insects, as well as small mammals, reptiles and amphibians. They do much of their hunting at dusk.

In the wild, they typically breed from August to December, however, because Bermuda is located in a different hemisphere, this has been reversed to January through May. They typically form partnerships for life and will take turns incubating eggs on the nest, rarely leaving the nest unattended.

BZS_150707_9a.jpg
The first two chicks hatched from BAMZ residents
Kermit and Duane.
 Photos by S. Westhead

BZS_150701_9b.jpg

What makes these chicks particularly special is that Kermit, our male, has not previously been genetically represented in the tawny frogmouth population. His offspring are important as they will contribute to genetic diversity within the population that are in human care.

Also significant is the fact that Kermit is 18 years of age. In the wild, Tawny’s will usually live between 10 to 14 years, and in human care, there are only eight recorded males that have reproduced after the age of 17 years.

The oldest two chicks were born on March 21st, 2015 and March 28th, 2015, and are already on display in the Australasia exhibit, however they have been placed in an enclosure for their protection. The third chick was born on May 5th, 2015, and will hopefully be big enough to join its siblings in the near future.

The tawnies are a part of a Species Survival Protection breeding programme and the manager of that programme will recommend where the new chicks should be placed, in order to best maintain the breeding population. Those recommendations are generally issued annually, so for the next few months, they will still be calling BAMZ home.