Status: 02/14/2023 09:12 a.m
Roses or chocolates are not the kind of thing to send to an ex for Valentine’s Day. A zoo in the USA has a different offer: cockroaches that get the name of the ex-lover – and are then fed.
It crunches and crunches. Opossum “Notch” happily bites through the iridescent green shell of a cockroach and smacks his lips contentedly. The marsupial crushes the skinny little legs of: Michael. This is what the cockroach was named before it was held in front of the possum’s sniffing nose with long tweezers as a snack.
The opossum doesn’t care what the cockroach’s name is. The main thing is that it’s delicious. Just like cockroach Robert – according to the accompanying message a notorious cheater – and cockroach Karyna, who stands for an apparently unpopular teacher from Maryland.
Eat as much as you can
“It’s cockroach season, they say at the San Antonio Zoo in the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day, when big cardboard boxes full of iridescent cockroaches arrive from South America. The male roaches have large green wings, and the females have brown stripes on their wings Body An “all you can eat” buffet for reptiles, birds and small rodents.
The zoo is offering this promotion for the fourth time, and the spectacle is getting bigger every year. Fueled by the internet.
Once upon a time, people liked to eat each other. Now cockroaches released for consumption should be a last salute to the common past.
Image: Daniel Doernen
Thousands want to say hello
Press spokesman Cyle Perez reported enthusiastically that more than 8,000 people from all 50 states in the USA and more than 30 countries around the world took part last year. In 2023, the zoo will top these numbers again.
“This heartbreaking event has grown into our biggest fundraiser of the year, raising over $80,000 last year,” said Perez. Money that the zoo invests in feed and animal welfare.
The large facility just outside the city of San Antonio is a not-for-profit facility that has been attracting visitors since 1914. More than 750 animal species have found a home here, including some that are endangered or already extinct in the wild.
You don’t know what’s going through this feathered friend’s head as it eats. The intentions of the eaters, on the other hand, are quite obvious.
Image: G. Engel
A cockroach does not come for free
For a donation of ten dollars, the zoo now feeds cockroaches in February, which are named after the ex. The insects are distributed – still alive – to reptiles, birds and smaller rodents such as opossum notch.
The ex will then be informed of the campaign with a pink card – just as it should be on Valentine’s Day. Must be so much fun.
In any case, most donors took part in the campaign for fun, says press spokesman Perez. Some would even use it as a joke for their current partner.
But some accompanying messages would also have something therapeutic – for example to be able to draw a line under a failed relationship. “After seven toxic years, it’s time to say bye bye,” writes a Massachusetts woman. “Your life as cockroach fodder has more meaning than our time together,” shared a betrayed Nevada man.
What’s the point of crying? Instead, the San Antonio Zoo invites you to an action that is closer to salutary shouting.
Image: G. Engel
Bigger is also possible – and meat-free
And even if the cockroaches are the real stars of the action – dead rodents and vegetables are now also on offer: a dead rat goes to the snakes as food for $25.
The two green anacondas look as if they have swallowed a handball and are dozing contentedly in the reptile house. “Of course we also have a variant for vegetarians,” reports animal keeper Craig Pelke on the way to see the giant tortoises. “After all, a head of cabbage or a leek also makes a good ex.”
George, Bruno and Edie seem very happy about that. The turtle flat share is over 300 years old and weighs over 500 kilos. Slowly and noisily they grind the vegetables that Pelke holds out to them with their jaws. The fact that they are being filmed doesn’t bother them.
For the really big thoughts of revenge or the extra fun – depending on how you see it – there is the deluxe video package: for 150 dollars the team at the zoo shoots a small film of the feeding and captions it with a personal message .
“There’s something therapeutic about it”
Corinna Tressler from Oregon treated herself to such a film in order to leave the failed relationship with a laugh after many tears, as she says. “I’ve watched the movie so many times now, including with my girlfriends, and we always have tears in our eyes! It’s so funny written!”
And Xiaoan Chen from Hong Kong also indulged in this fun to put an end to a long-term toxic relationship, she reports in the Zoom interview.
Friends from the USA told her that the idea was great. “I probably won’t send it to my ex, I did it more for myself. There’s something therapeutic about it.”
This message is sent to the person whose name the eaten cockroach bore – with reference to the all-round good cause of the campaign.
Image: G. Engel
Michael at the front
While Jakob and Jessica were the most frequently mentioned names last year, this year Michael and Emily are at the top of the list of ex-partners. Whereby: simply living out revenge fantasies seems to be mostly a woman’s thing. Significantly more women than men take part in the campaign.
The San Antonio Zoo isn’t just playing the humorous avenger with the campaign – it’s also trying to be Cupid: There’s also a big singles party with speed dating and dancing at the zoo for Valentine’s Day. Motto: “Find your new ex”.