When picking out a gift for a significant other on Valentine’s Day, it’s typical to choose flowers, chocolate or even a nice dinner.
The Peoria Zoo is offering something a little different.
The zoo has brought back its cockroach adoption program this holiday season. For $20, you can name a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach after that special someone in your life, with the money supporting the daily care the animals receive, specialty formulated diets, veterinary care and enrichment.
You also can purchase one for a previous Valentine, showing them your disdain with a creature many people think is gross and creepy.
“It’s kind of a fun way to support the zoo,” said director Yvonne Strode. “The money will then go to feed all the animals, not just the cockroaches, and let a loved one or not-so-loved-one know you’re thinking about them.”
When you buy, you’ll receive a printable certificate that includes cockroach facts, cutouts and candy hearts with love messages. The facts and messages you get will depend on who you’re buying it for.
If it’s for a current partner, the certificate will tell you fun facts about cockroaches, such as how they are resilient, fast and 99% are considered harmless, with some even being docile. Additionally, the candy hearts will feature messages such as “I love you” and “I am yours.”
If it’s for an ex, you’ll get facts about cockroaches that tell you they pass gas every 10 minutes, they have thousands of tiny hairs on their legs and feet, and they can live for nine days without a head. The candy hearts also will say things like “hard pass” and “go away.”
Each certificate comes with small cockroach photo cutouts, which Strode ensures are not life-sized.
“It’s just for those out-there kind of people that are looking for something unique and don’t want to do the flowers and candies again,” Strode said.
The zoo has a colony of Madagascar Hissing roaches, which can get up to 4 inches long — much bigger than a normal cockroach. Often kept as pets, the males are the ones that “hiss” whenever they are upset or excited.
Wednesday is the last day to buy one. They can be purchased at the Peoria Zoo website. The zoo is offering free admission on Valentine’s Day, too.
“It’s a fun way to have people to think about us in February when normally they’re not thinking about us too much,” Strode said.
