The Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo (BAMZ) has a new curator. He is Dr. Ian Walker, who fills the vacancy created when Brian Lightbourn became principal curator last year. Dr. Walker will direct and oversee daily operations and animal care, and participate in the popular Flatts facility's continued development.

Describing the new curator as "a great asset", director of conservation services Jack Ward said: "He brings superb overseas experience, as well as in-depth knowledge of the Bermuda Aquarium and Zoo, and we look forward to welcoming him back."

Dr. Walker is no stranger to the BAMZ, having first served there as a junior volunteer in his youth ? an experience which inspired him to become a veterinarian ? and later as an aquarist/veterinarian from 1996-98 following his graduation from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

"I practically grew up at the Bermuda Aquarium, so coming back is a truly amazing experience for me," the new curator said. "I feel a part of the BAMZ family, and I am really looking forward to this wonderful opportunity."

Prior to returning to Bermuda, Dr. Walker worked at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland, where he began as a veterinary intern, and rose to become chief clinical veterinarian, providing daily care for 800 different species and 11,000 animals.

He is married to Tanja, whom he met while both were at the Bermuda Aquarium in the 1990s, and the couple have a five-month-old son.