You Can Have A Cockroach Named After Your Ex And Fed To A Meerkat On Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day, the third biggest holiday of the year, is right around the corner. But maybe cards, chocolate, and flowers are not the thing for you. Well, how does naming your ex after a cockroach that will be fed to animals for everyone to see sound?

That’s exactly what El Paso Zoo in Texas has to offer you. It doesn’t matter if you don’t live there either. From anywhere in the world you can have this opportunity to name a roach after your ex and watch it get fed to a family of hungry meerkats on Valentine’s Day – thanks to their live streaming webcam.

“What’s the perfect Valentine’s Day gift? Naming a cockroach after your ex, of course! Message us your ex’s name and we’ll name a cockroach after them! We’ll post names (First and last name initial!) starting February 11 here on Facebook! Watch on Facebook Live or on our website’s Meerkat webcam on Valentine’s Day at 2:15 pm to see them devour these little bugs!” – El Paso Zoo Facebook post

So, if you want to jump on this lovely offer, all you have to do is send the El Paso Zoo a message via Facebook messenger. Let them know the first name and the initial of the last name of your ex. The zoo will then kindly feed the cockroach version of your no good ex to some cute little hungry animals and stream it live on their Facebook page for you, and everyone else, to enjoy. Not only that, they will also exhibit their name in and around the meerkat enclosure, and on social media, beginning February 11. All of this to ensure the perfect level of public humiliation.

The event coordinator at El Paso Zoo, Sarah Borrego, told CBS News:

“This is a fun way to get the community involved in our daily enrichment activities. The meerkats love to get cockroaches as a snack and what better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than by feeding them a cockroach named after your ex!”

Apparently, everyone is loving the idea and getting involved.  Since last week, 1,500 names have already been submitted! There are so many cockroaches named after people that the meerkat’s can’t possibly eat them all themselves; which is all great news for the other zoo animals who get to join in on the feast now.

“We’ve had a TREMENDOUS response to our Quit Bugging Me event! So much that we have decided to spread the love to some of our other animals here at the zoo! We’ll keep you posted on feeding times next week!” – El Paso Zoo Facebook post

Zoo official Borrego told the BBC that each individual meerkat will receive only one insect. “Cockroaches are considered a treat for meerkats,” she says. This means that they get to “share the love” and include other animals like cotton-top tamarins, golden tamarins, and white-headed marmosets into this feeding extravaganza!

Meanwhile, in other parts of the world, more fun services like this are being offered. For instance, in the UK, the Hemsley Conservation Center will name a cockroach after your ex, and the same goes for the Bronx Zoo in New York and Zoo Boise in Idaho. “After the chocolates have been eaten and the flowers wilt, roaches remain thriving and triumphant,” the Bronx Zoo romantically says.

Then there’s other places offering a similar, yet different, service. For example, the Sydney Zoo in Australia is taking on a bit more of a “hardcore” approach to their Valentine’s Day fun. They are promising to name a highly venomous brown snake after your “snake of an ex”.

But now back to the bugs…

There’s no need to be heartbroken when you can have fun this Valentine’s Day by participating with this zoo’s “Quit Bugging Me” event. To watch the zoo employees feed the roaches to the zoo’s meerkats (and other animals) make sure to check in with the zoos website or Facebook page on Feb. 14 at 2:15 p.m. local time.

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