Since 2011, the Bronx Zoo has offered a Valentine’s tradition that’s crunchier than any candy bar you might come across. Tune your antennas to their annual “Name a Roach” fundraiser.
Photo Courtesy Wildlife Conservation Society
Stuck on what to get your favorite person for Valentines Day? Is your girlfriend tired of flowers and chocolates, your best friend sick of cards and candy? Maybe you’re just tired of the same old red-and-pink stereotypical routine.
Well, skitter no farther—the Bronx Zoo has the solution for every gift giver looking to spice things up this year.
Since 2011, the Bronx Zoo has offered a Valentine’s tradition that’s crunchier than any candy bar you might come across. Tune your antennas to their annual “Name a Roach” fundraiser, a silly and unexpected way to celebrate love in all of its wacky and wonderful forms.
A quick Scatter over to the Bronx Zoo’s website allows visitors to adopt and name a Madagascar hissing cockroach of their very own, transforming a usually frightful insect into an inspiring motif of love.
You might be wondering, “Why on earth would I give my partner a cockroach for Valentine’s Day?”
The answer is simple: it’s hiss-terical
Beyond the laughs, this gift carries real impact. For more than a decade, proceeds from the Bronx Zoo’s cockroach project have gone towards the Wildlife Conservation Society (WSC), a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting wildlife and wild places all over the globe.
Each adoption supports conservation efforts, educational programs, and research, proving that even the most misunderstood creatures can cause a major impact. This is a gift which sparks insightful conversation, curiosity, and supports a much bigger cause than a box of chocolates could.
Madagascar hissing cockroaches are surprisingly interesting themselves— much like the people who you might be gifting them to. Native to Madagascar, their unique ability to create a loud, snake-like noise makes them the only insect that is able to hiss.
This is made possible by their ability to force air through holes in their bodies. They may sound scary, but it is their way of communicating and defending themselves in the wild.
Roses are red, violets are blue, who else can I give my roach to?
For $15, love-bugs from around the world can adopt a cockroach and name it whatever their hearts may desire. The possibilities are endless.
Name one after your girlfriend, Roachel. Honor your best friend, or maybe that pest of an ex? How about paying a tribute to your favorite celebrity?
Each purchase comes with a digital certificate, serving as official proof of ownership for these tiny tokens of love. Skip the hugs and let the cockroaches handle the hisses this roach-mantic Valentines season.
For $35, patrons can upgrade their experience with a live virtual meet and greet featuring a Madagascar hissing cockroach and a surprise from a mystery animal from the Bronx Zoo. During the session, patrons are able to chat live with experts who are buggin’ to share all they know about these magnificent creatures.
For those who are really looking to infest that special someone’s heart, the Bronx Zoo also offers a mystery box option. This package includes a physical copy of your very own roach’s certificate, a virtual encounter, and two surprise “roach-tastic” gifts. This could be roach socks, roach tumblers, roach beanie, a roach cross body bag, or even a roach plushie!
After all, nothing says “I love you” quite like the gift that survives literally everything.
