Bronx Zoo Offers Madagascar Hissing Cockroach for Love Sign

VIVA – As people know, cockroaches are disgusting animals, and many people are afraid of these animals. But different from Madagascar hissing cockroach, is kept as pets or used in scientific research, even considers as a love sign. Meanwhile, the Bronx Zoo, New York is home to a lot of Madagascar hissing cockroaches.

The cockroaches at the Bronx Zoo are intentionally farmed. When Valentine's Day came, the zoo offers visitors to name one of the animals as a romantic gesture and a rather bizarre sign of love.

If you want to name a cockroach in the zoo as a symbol of love, especially on Valentine's Day, you have to pay USD10 or IDR151 thousand per cockroach.

"Tens of thousands of roaches remain nameless and would make a great symbol of your love," the zoo writes, under a banner with the tagline: "Elusive, resilient, and sometimes scary: Love is like a roach."

It turns out that there is a philosophy about why cockroaches can be used as a symbol of love in that country. They believe that romance never dies, like this animal.

The Madagascar hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa) is a species of cockroach native to Madagascar, an island off the coast of Africa.

As their name suggests, these cockroaches are known for their distinctive hissing sound, which they produce by forcing air through specialized breathing holes called spiracles.

Madagascar hissing cockroaches are relatively large, with adults reaching 2-3 inches in length. They have a shiny, reddish-brown exoskeleton and long antennae. Unlike many other species of cockroaches, they are not pests and are generally harmless to humans.

In fact, they are often kept as pets or used as educational animals in zoos and schools. In addition to their unique hissing behavior, they are also known for their ability to digest a wide range of plant material, making them significant decomposers in their native ecosystems.