Name a cockroach, rat after your ex and watch as the San Antonio Zoo feeds it to an animal on Valentine’s Day

At the San Antonio Zoo’s Cry Me A Cockroach Valentine’s Day event, the brokenhearted can pay $5 to name a cockroach or $25 to name a rodent after their ex and then watch as the tasty morsel is fed to one of the zoo’s hungry, hungry insectivores. less At the San Antonio Zoo’s Cry Me A Cockroach Valentine’s Day event, the brokenhearted can pay $5 to name a cockroach or $25 to name a rodent after their ex and then watch as the tasty morsel is fed to one of ... more Photo: National Pest Management Association Photo: National Pest Management Association Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Name a cockroach, rat after your ex and watch as the San Antonio Zoo feeds it to an animal on Valentine’s Day 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Jilted lovers can get their revenge this Valentine’s Day during the San Antonio Zoo’s Cry Me A Cockroach event. Equal parts eww and aww, the fundraiser helps mend the brokenhearted by giving them the opportunity, for the low price of only $5, to name a cockroach after their ex and then have the not-so-guilty pleasure of watching, either in person or by live stream, as the tasty morsel is fed to one of the zoo’s hungry, hungry insectivores.

For $25, you can also name a rat after that once-special BF or GF who done you wrong, and then watch as the sub-in for your snake of an ex is fed to a literal snake.

To name a roach or rat, visit sazoo.org/valentine. Involuntary singles also will receive a certificate they can send to their ex, alerting them that a cockroach named in their honor will be eaten on Valentine’s Day.

“Rodents and roaches are routinely fed to many of our animals as enrichment treats,” said Jennifer Pue, the zoo’s director of public relations. “These are the kinds of foods they eat out in the wild.”

The feeding frenzy by the zoo’s birds and reptiles will take place some time on Feb. 14th, with the exact times still to be decided. If you can’t make it, you’ll be able to watch on the zoo’s Facebook page, @SanAntonioZoo, or at sazoo.org/you-blew-it.

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Couples who are still lovebugs haven’t been forgotten, though. They can enjoy a four-course prix fixe meal and a glass of wine during the Valentine’s night Wild at Heart dinner at the zoo for $90 a person. Entrees are a choice of veal osso bucco or seared barramundi. There are seatings at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and reservations, required, can be made at the sazoo.org/experiences/wildatheart.

The squeamish will be comforted to hear that all the roaches used are sourced from outside companies and maintained by the reptile department until feeding time. Rodents come from a mouse farm and are delivered to the zoo frozen.

San Antonio’s isn’t the only zoo to bug out on Valentine’s Day. The Bronx Zoo lets visitors name a Madagascar hissing cockroach for a loved (or former loved) one for as little as $15 a pop.

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The El Paso Zoo’s promotion is free, although donations are accepted. This year El Paso raised the ick factor when zoo director Joe Montisano pledged to eat one roach for every $1,000 raised. So far, he’s set to dine on three of the creepy critters.

Told of Montisano’s culinary challenge, Pue laughed and said San Antonio Zoo CEO Tim Morrow hadn’t heard about it, but that she’d mention it to him.

Richard A. Marini is a features writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | rmarini@express-news.net | Twitter: @RichardMarini