Forget Flowers — Celebrate Valentine's Day with ‘Name-a-Roach’ from the Bronx Zoo

For the 13th year, donors can name a Bronx Zoo Madagascar hissing cockroach after a loved one (or not-so-loved one)

2024 Media video | Video credit: https://bit.ly/3Hjn0oW © Bronx Zoo

2024 Media photos | Photo credits: https://bit.ly/48PCrAW © Bronx Zoo

Roses are red, violets are blue; celebrate love with help from the Bronx Zoo.

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Name a Roach for your Valentine, because roaches are forever. (Photo: Business Wire)

The popular Name-a-Roach program returns for a 13th year, allowing donors to symbolically name a Bronx Zoo Madagascar hissing cockroach for their Valentine … or ex-Valentine. The cockroaches are located in the Madagascar! Exhibit at the Bronx Zoo.

Flowers wilt and chocolates melt, but cockroaches last forever. For a $15 donation, your Valentine will receive a digital certificate featuring the name chosen for the roach. Upgrade your order with an additional donation to receive extras like roach socks, a roach plush, or a virtual encounter where you can virtually meet a cockroach and chat live with the experts about caring for these unique and charming creatures. Supplies are limited for upgrades, so make sure you get your unforgettable gift today.

Name-a-Roach 2024 gift packages include:

• The Original — Digital certificate: $15
• Roach Plush — Plush and printed certificate: $40
• Roach Socks — Socks and printed certificate: $35 one pair/$50 two pairs
• Valentine's Virtual Encounter & Roach Plush — Encounter, plush and printed certificate: $60
• Valentine's Virtual Encounter & Roach Socks — Encounter, socks and printed certificate: $60 one pair/$75 two pairs
• The Works — Roach Plush, two pairs of Roach Socks, Valentine's Virtual Encounter, and printed certificate: $85

Orders must be placed by Feb. 8, 2024 in order to receive the gift by Valentine’s Day. Valentine's Virtual Encounters are approximately 15 minutes, with sessions on Feb. 10 at 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Feb. 11 at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and Feb. 14 at 12:45 p.m. Login details will be included in the information card received with your package (if the order was placed before the shipping deadline of Feb. 8), and in an email that will go out on Feb. 9.

The original Name-a-Roach was launched by the Bronx Zoo in 2011, and thousands of hopeless romantics from around the world have named the Bronx Zoo’s Madagascar hissing cockroaches after friends, family, loved ones, and not-so-loved ones. Previous names chosen have been inspired by politics, music, movies, and more.

Donations help the Wildlife Conservation Society protect animals, big and small, loved and maligned, at the Bronx Zoo and around the world. Place your order today to benefit roaches and many other species, and join us at the Bronx Zoo soon.

About The Bronx Zoo

The Bronx Zoo, located on 265 acres of hardwood forest in Bronx, NY, opened on Nov. 8, 1899. It is world-renowned for its leadership in the areas of animal welfare, husbandry, veterinary care, education, science and conservation. The zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and is the flagship park of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) which manages the world’s largest network of urban wildlife parks including the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, Queens Zoo and New York Aquarium. Our curators and animal care staff work to save, propagate, and sustain populations of threatened and endangered species. We have educated and inspired more than 400 million visitors at our zoos and aquarium since our opening and host approximately 4 million guests at our parks each year – including about a half-million students annually. The Bronx Zoo is the largest youth employer in the borough of the Bronx, providing opportunity and helping to transform lives in one of the most under-served communities in the nation. The Bronx Zoo is the subject of THE ZOO, a docu-series aired world-wide on Animal Planet. The organization is led (as of June 1, 2023) by President and CEO Monica P. Medina. For additional information or general inquiries, please contact Mary Dixon, mdixon@wcs.org (347-840-1242).

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