VENOMOUS VALENTINE?
For Valentine's Day, Australian zoo offers a chance to have a snake named after your ex
The Oklahoma City Zoo offers several “out-of-the-box” gift ideas for Valentine's Day.
ZOOfriends members receive free admission to the OKC Zoo for an entire year, plus additional perks and discounts. Membership levels start at $35. Packages are available to fit every budget; 100 percent of membership dollars go back to the zoo to support a variety of programs including conservation initiatives.
Proceeds from these adoptions support the health, enrichment and nutritional needs of the OKC Zoo's animal family. Cost: $60.
Marvel at masterpieces created by elephants, sea lions, tigers, snakes, giraffes and even Puddles, the zoo's fishing cat! Find the picture-perfect painting for your Valentine by visiting the Zoo's Guest Services office, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
The Oklahoma City Zoo's Safari Gift Shop offers a vast selection of items, including children's books and toys, apparel, green or recycled gifts and home decor. Shop your heart out 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For more information, call Guest Services at 425-0262.
Roses are red, violets are blue, is there a brown snake in Sydney named after you? Well, there soon could be, thanks to a competition launched by a zoo in Australia that invites people to name one of their venomous snakes after an ex-partner — all in the spirit of Valentine's Day.
“Is your ex a snake? If so, now is your opportunity to cement their `snaky status' this Valentine's Day by naming a brown snake (one of the world's most venomous snakes) after them at WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo!” the zoo posted on its Facebook page earlier this month.
To enter, participants must fill out a form including the name of their ex-partner and detailing why they deserve to have a snake named after them. Entrants also are asked to make a $1 donation to the WILD LIFE Conservation Fund. The winning name will be selected by the zoo's reptile team and revealed on Thursday, Valentine's Day.
“We hope that by providing someone unlucky in love the opportunity to name WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo's very own brown snake after their ex, we can give them something else to celebrate on Valentine's Day this year,” said the zoo's general manager, Mark Connolly.
On social media, many reacted to the zoo's competition with delight, tagging their friends and vowing to submit the names of their ex or, in some cases, exes. Not everyone, however, was impressed by the concept with some riled users accusing the zoo of encouraging bullying.
“So basically WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo is encouraging a heap of online bullying, aimed at attacking peoples exes?” read one comment, to which the zoo replied:
“We can assure you that no entries submitted as part of our `Name a snake after your ex' competition will be released publicly. The chosen first name will be announced via our social channels on Valentine's Day. This is a light-hearted