Recent News
Being thrown in at deep end suits aquaristMonday, February 08, 2016
A young Bermudian aquarist is making waves in some dangerous waters at the Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada.
BERNEWS: “Most Fascinating Person” Choy Aming
Friday, January 22, 2016
Bernews has launched their "10 Most Fascinating People of Bermuda 2015" series, and our very own Choy Aming was the first featured video.
Residents invited to hurricanes talk
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Bermuda Weather Service director Kimberley Zuill will present a free lecture on hurricanes at the Bermuda Zoological Society next Thursday.
Video: “Most Fascinating Person” Choy Aming
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
The “10 Most Fascinating People of Bermuda 2015″ series begins this evening with the first video release featuring Choy Aming.
Work to begin on new aquarium entrance
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Construction work on a new entrance area to the aquarium is expected to get under way this week.
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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!
Jonathan Bell
Published Nov 2, 2017 at 8:00 am (Updated Nov 2, 2017 at 6:05 am)
The brown anole lizard in Bermuda (Photograph by James Stroud)
Bermuda’s endangered skinks are soon to cross paths with a thriving invasive species that already outnumbers the entire native population.
James Stroud of Florida International University said the brown anole lizard had been recorded “living in some of the highest densities of any terrestrial vertebrate on Earth”.
Dr Stroud’s report was shared with The Royal Gazette in the wake of an article on the lizard’s spread after the reptiles were spotted around Aberfeldy nursery in Paget.
The brown anole lizard in Bermuda (Photograph by James Stroud)
Other clusters of the foreign lizard were found on the grounds of Belco and a lumber yard at Mill Creek, both in Pembroke.
The report, with Sean Giery from North Carolina State University and Mark Outerbridge from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, “conservatively” estimated there were 4,000 to 5,000 of the lizards on the island — dwarfing a total skink population of 3,500.
Researchers on Nonsuch Island: from left, Mark Outerbridge of the Department
of Environment and Natural Resources, Sean Giery from the University of Connecticut,
and James Stroud of Florida International University (Photograph supplied)
The two species overlap “substantially” — both lizards prefer to stay on the ground, and eat the same ground-dwelling insects and spiders.
The scientists estimated that contact between the species might occur in less than ten years.
Brown anole numbers appear to reflect “an initial stage of invasion, and prior to exponential growth” — meaning the lizards could become a familiar sight around the island.
The brown anole, which is originally from the Caribbean, has spread around the world — partly because the lizards are popular as pets.