The Bronx Zoo has been offering the opportunity to name a Madagascar hissing cockroach for Valentine’s Day since 2011 – and the tradition continues for 2023. The original Valentine’s Day Name-a-Roach gift package is back!
As one of the most talked about holiday traditions of all time, the Bronx Zoo offers the opportunity to symbolically name its 10,000-plus giant Madagascar hissing cockroaches. The tongue-in-cheek Valentine’s Day gift comes with a colorful certificate emailed to your loved one announcing that a cockroach has been named in his or her honor.
The Name-a-Roach offering is a fun, light-hearted way to make sure your loved one knows your feelings will last a lifetime while helping the Bronx Zoo and the Wildlife Conservation Society further its mission to save wildlife and wild places in New York and around the world.
For a $15 donation, your valentine will receive a printable certificate featuring the name chosen for the roach named in their honor. To make an extra special impression, orders can be upgraded for additional donation to include an all-new roach tumbler, a roach tote bag and a special virtual Bronx Zoo Animal Encounter with a live Madagascar hissing cockroach. All gift upgrades are while supplies last. Name-a-Roach gift orders can be placed at BronxZoo.com/Roach.
Bronx Zoo Name-a-Roach Gift Packages:
- The original digital certificate $15
- Tumbler or tote (plus certificate) $35
- Tumbler or tote + Wild Encounter (plus certificate) $60
- The Works (tumbler, tote, Wild Encounter and certificate) $75
Since the program’s inception, thousands of hopeless romantics from around the world have named the zoo’s Madagascar hissing cockroaches after friends, family and loved ones. Names chosen have been inspired by politics, music, movies and more. The possibilities are limitless.
The zoo has plenty of roaches to name with thousands of the super-sized bugs on exhibit in Madagascar – an award-winning habitat for lemurs, crocodiles and many other species from the African island nation.
Madagascar hissing cockroaches, reaching nearly four inches long, are the world’s largest roach species. The namesake’s hissing noise is emitted as a defense mechanism. Unlike nearly every other roach species, Madagascar hissing cockroaches are not considered pests and rarely enter homes.
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