Valentine's Day: Bronx Zoo offers to name its Madagascar hissing cockroaches after your exes

A US zoo is allowing people to get revenge on their ex-partners and express their emotions in an unorthodox way ahead of Valentine's Day by naming a cockroach after them. 

As per the annual tradition, the Bronx Zoo is charging $15 (about ₹ 1246) for visitors to name a cockroach after their former lover. A vibrant certificate proclaiming the naming of a Madagascar hissing cockroach in your ex's memory is included with the gift. 

Also available for $20 more is a virtual meeting with a cockroach and a "special surprise animal guest." There are also adorable roach plushies and socks with a roach theme to buy.

Notably, the largest roach species in the world are Madagascar hissing cockroaches, which may grow to a length of almost four inches.

In a tweet, the zoo announced the campaign and wrote, ''Valentine's Day is creeping up once again. Only one gift has six legs and an irresistible aura of romance. That's right! Name a Bronx Zoo Madagascar hissing cockroach after your special someone and spell out your love for them in big, bold, big letters.''

Orders must be placed by February 8, 2024, to receive the gift by Valentine's Day. On its website, the zoo added a note that reads, ''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.''

When the Bronx Zoo first introduced the Name-a-Roach programme in 2011, some participants named the roaches after their ex-partners or even their in-laws. As part of the Valentine's Day programme last year, 3,246 people named roaches, according to the Bronx Zoo, CBS reported.

The Wildlife Conservation Society, whose mission is to conserve biodiversity worldwide, will receive all donations.

The Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy initiated a comparable name-a-roach effort last year.