Cockroaches are becoming a Valentine’s Day tradition in zoos

• ComRoaches are being given names by couples, often after their partners or ex-partners.
• Valentine’s Day roach packages at the Bronx Zoo range in price from $15 to $75.
• The Toronto Zoo offers both a kinder alternative and a name-a-roach initiative.mon.

As a Valentine’s Day gift, several zoos let visitors name a cockroach. Roaches are being given names by couples, often after their partners or ex-partners.

The Valentine’s Day roach packages at the Bronx Zoo in New York range in price from $15 to $75. A virtual encounter with the roach — a hissing cockroach — and a “surprise animal guest” are all included in “The Works” package, which also includes a tumbler, tote, certificate honoring the roach that is named.

You've done the flowers, you've done the chocolates. But you can't spell “romance” without “roach”.

Okay, you can. But you shouldn't.

Love is in the air, and there's no better time to name a Bronx Zoo Madagascar hissing cockroach for your special someone https://t.co/epKXvBD61q pic.twitter.com/fxi9xsEFBD

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— Bronx Zoo (@BronxZoo) January 18, 2023

“You don’t always have the right words, but you can still give them goosebumps. Name a Roach for your Valentine, because roaches are forever,” According to the Bronx Zoo’s website.

In the San Antonio Zoo’s “Cry me a Cockroach Fundraiser,” angry ex-spouses can give a cockroach their name and watch as it gets devoured. They can even make a donation in honor of a veggie or rodent that will suffer the same fate. A virtual Valentine’s Day card informing the ex that a cockroach was named and devoured in their honor would be sent to them.

The San Antonio Zoo reports that Jacob and Sarah were the two most requested names during the previous year’s campaign.

Among the many other organizations that provide such activities are the Florida Aquarium, the El Paso Zoo, and the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

Free of charge, Business Waste, a commercial waste management company in the UK, will rename a trash can in honor of a “rubbish” ex. After Valentine’s Day, the business will randomly select a name from the names it has collected through the submission of a free form.

The Toronto Zoo offers both a kinder alternative and a name-a-roach initiative. A couple can adopt a pair of African penguins. They will also get some artwork, a stuffed animal, and a personalized adoption certificate.

Roses are red; violets are blue… Is there someone in your life that’s bugging you? Give them goosebumps by naming a cockroach in their honour this Valentine's Day ❤️

For more information or to symbolically name-a-roach: https://t.co/maFh8siDB5 🪳 pic.twitter.com/ZdB8EfUSjD

— Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy (@TZWConservancy) January 15, 2023

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