Why Give Flowers When You Can ‘Adopt' a Red Panda or Name a Roach This Valentine's Day
Two red pandas are set to debut at the National Zoo ahead of Valentine’s Day
By Sarah Glover ••
Zoos across the country are making gift giving a wild experience this Valentine’s Day.
As multiple zoos offer targeted "adoption" and experience programs that aid animal conservation and celebrate Valentine's, flowers aren't the only way to show your love this holiday.
To celebrate the arrival of two red pandas, the National Zoo’s adopt a species program is highlighting the cinnamon-furred animal for Valentine’s Day. At the $65 adoption level and up, donors receive a plush stuffed red panda, adoption certificate and photo. Thirteen other species are also available for adoption at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
The two red pandas, a mother and son duo -- Nutmeg and Jackie -- are set to debut this week as they get acclimated to their new home at the zoo.
Their arrival to the Asia Trail exhibit has been highly anticipated since Jackie’s birth last June at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Virginia.
Lou Benoist/AFP/Getty Images
New born white lion cubs Nala and Simba drink milk, Aug. 11, 2019, at the French animal association "Caresse de tigre", at La Mailleraye-sur-Seine, France.The two white lion cubs were born at the end of July.
Lou Benoist/AFP/Getty Images
Brigitte, the director of the association "Caresse de tigre", feeds a new born white lion cub with a nursing bottle, on Aug. 11, 2019.
Lou Benoist/AFP/Getty Images
Two white lion cubs "Nala" and "Simba" are seen at the French animal association "Caresse de tigre", at La Mailleraye-sur-Seine, France, Aug. 11, 2019. The two were born at the end of July.
Laurel Vincent/Sacramento Zoo
Hey there, Gizmo! The Sacramento Zoo celebrated the newest addition to their zoo family – a six-week old red panda cub. Zoo keepers named him Gizmo after the Gremlins movie.
Laurel Vincent/Sacramento Zoo
At six weeks old, Gizmo weighs 661 grams, loves naps and has his own hashtag.
Oregon Zoo
Is there anything cuter than a baby flamingo chick? This chick is one of five that hatched at Oregon Zoo in the first week of July. All five are being hand reared by staff.
Oregon Zoo
The flamingo chicks, eating nine times a day, will gain the signature flamingo pink plumage from a continued diet of shrimp and algae.
Ken Bohn/AP
Animal care staff at the San Diego Zoo weights one of the first penguin chicks born at the San Diego Zoo African Penguin colony in San Diego, California, on May 7, 2019. A fluffy pair of 2-month-olds are the first chicks hatched at the zoo from eggs laid by the colony's resident penguin couples.
AP
An animal care staffer at the San Diego Zoo pets the first penguin chicks born at the San Diego Zoo African Penguin colony in San Diego, California, on May 7, 2019. A fluffy pair of 2-month-olds are the first chicks hatched at the zoo from eggs laid by the colony's resident penguin couples.
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
A newborn female western lowland gorilla is cradled by her mother at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., shortly after being born on May 1, 2019. The gorilla is named Grace, after a gorilla sanctuary in the Democratic republic of Congo, and her birth was an important step in sustaining the critically endangered species, which has been in decline due to hunting and habitat loss.
Whitney Huffman/Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum shows a rare female ocelot kitten who was born in March. The birth was the result of collaborations with the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife and El Paso Zoo to help bolster ocelot population numbers, according to the Desert Museum.
Department of Natural Park, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation via AP
In this photo released and taken by Department of Natural Park, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation on Thursday, March 28, 2019, Thap Lan National Park rangers prepare to extract six baby elephants stuck in a muddy pond at Thap Lan National Park, Nakhon Ratchasima province, northeastern Thailand. The park rangers took five hours to dig out a path to save the six elephant calves after they were found trapped in a muddy pond.
Rick Stevens/Taronga Zoo Sydney via AP
In this photo released by the Taronga Zoo Sydney, three Sumatran tiger cubs born at the Taronga Zoo in their habitat, Monday, March 25, 2019, in Sydney, Australia. Taronga Zoo manager Mandy Everett said the cubs were born on Jan. 17 to first-time mother Kartika. The female cubs were named Mawar, or Rose in Indonesian, and Tengah Malam, which means Midnight. The male’s name is Pemanah, or Archer.
Indianapolis Zoo
New giraffe calf Mikena feeds with her mother at the Indianapolis Zoo. Mikena, which means "happy" or "abundance" in Swahili, was born on Feb. 11 and already stands 6 feet tall. She is the first female calf born at the Indianapolis Zoo since 2000.
Steffen Freiling/Berlin Zoo via AP
A little female polar bear watches the camera after its first examination by the animal doctors at the zoo in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. The still unnamed bear was born Dec. 1, 2018 at the zoo.
LA Zoo
A baby deer, called a pudu, was debuted to the LA Zoo and Botanical Gardens Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019.
Mark Dumont/Cincinnati Zoo
Raccoon? Cat? Bear? Whichever it is, these baby red panda cubs from the Cincinnati Zoo are absolutely adorable.
Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
At the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, first-time mom Sukiri gave birth to three cheetah cubs on Sept. 22, 2018. Ten cubs have been born at the Institute this year.
Stephanie Adams/Houston Zoo
The Houston Zoo’s new baby elephant, Tilly, born June 17, 2018, took her first steps outside, with mom, Tess, following closely behind. Tilly joined the herd and was greeted by her family of elephants.
Neiman Marcus
Saabili was born June 25, 2018 at the Dallas Zoo. She is the first gorilla born at the zoo in two decades.
NBCDFW
The Dallas Zoo has a new addition to the family. A baby gorilla was born on Monday, July 2, 2018.
Vladivostok Zoo via AP
Cute alert! Taigan the tiger cub and Alabai the puppy formed a rare friendship that Vladivostok Zoo caught on camera on June 21, 2018.
TELEMUNDO 40
The Los Angeles Zoo welcomed a baby Masai giraffe born May 15, 2018, just in time for June' World Giraffe Day. The calf was unnamed, but born weighing 176 pounds and standing 6 feet tall. The female calf was said to be one of the largest calves born at the LA Zoo.
Hotel del Coronado
The Los Angeles Zoo welcomed a baby Masai giraffe born May 15, 2018, just in time for June' World Giraffe Day. The calf was unnamed, but born weighing 176 pounds and standing 6 feet tall. The female calf was said to be one of the largest calves born at the LA Zoo.
LA Zoo
The Los Angeles Zoo welcomed a baby Masai giraffe born May 15, 2018, just in time for June' World Giraffe Day. The calf was unnamed, but born weighing 176 pounds and standing 6 feet tall. The female calf was said to be one of the largest calves born at the LA Zoo.
Ken Bohn , San Diego Zoo Safari Park
Two six-month-old wallaby joeys go nose to nose at the Animal Care Nursery at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park on April 13, 2018.
Ken Bohn , San Diego Zoo Safari Park
The wallaby joeys currently are being bottle fed and drink to 5 ounces of a special marsupial formula, three to five times a day.
San Diego Zoo
Baby white rhino Justin was born on Feb. 7, 2018, to mom Kacy at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. He is 125 pounds now, but his keepers say he should gain 100 pounds each month his first year. When he’s full-grown, he’ll weigh between 4,000 and 5,000 pounds.
AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi
Male giant panda Ri Ri, father of baby panda Xiang Xiang, bites bamboo at a cage at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Monday, Dec. 18, 2017. Ri Ri's baby panda has made a special appearance before Tokyo’s governor, a group of local schoolchildren and the media one day ahead of her official debut.
Yoshikazu Tsuno/Pool Photo via AP
Female giant panda cub Xiang Xiang plays in a cage during a press preview at the Ueno Zoological gardens in Tokyo Monday, Dec. 18, 2017. A baby panda has made a special appearance before Tokyo's governor, a group of local schoolchildren and the media one day ahead of its official public debut. Xiang Xiang, a 6-month-old female giant panda, will debut Tuesday, Dec. 19, in a limited public viewing for avid fans who obtained tickets through a highly competitive lottery process.
Getty Images
Male panda cub Yuan Meng, which was born at the Beauval zoo, is pictured on Dec. 4, 2017, in Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher during its naming ceremony. The 4-month-old cub was called Yuan Meng, which means 'Fulfillment of a dream'.
NBC
A 13-day-old hippopotamus stands next to its mother 'Gloria' at San Jorge Zoo in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico on Nov. 28, 2017.
Petr David Josek/AP
A newly born eastern black rhino plays with a pumpkin in its enclosure at the zoo in Dvur Kralove, Czech Republic, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017.
Petr David Josek/AP
One of the newly born cheetah quintuplets is licked by its mother Savannah at their enclosure at the zoo in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017. The five cubs, three male and two female, were born on May 15, 2017. Scientists say every cheetah cub is critical to saving the species, which is threatened with extinction in the wild.
Jamie Pham
The newest member of the Los Angeles Zoo already stands at six feet tall. This female Masai giraffe was born to Zainabu and Phillip, a pair of five-year-old residents of the Griffith Park-based animal park.
Philadelphia Zoo via AP
This July 13, 2017, photo provided by the Philadelphia Zoo shows a zookeeper feeding a bottle to a baby Amur tiger at the zoo in Philadelphia. The rare Amur tiger cub named Zoya, which means "life" in Russian, is being sent to the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden to integrate with a tiger cub litter there, after her mother Koosaka failed to show maternal behavior toward the cub following the cub's July 10, 2017, birth.
Great Plains Zoo
The Great Plains Zoo announced the birth of an endangered Snow Monkey baby. The male baby, born on May 16, is the sixth Snow Monkey born at the Zoo, and is one of 24 endangered species cared for by the Zoo.
Tokyo Zoological Park Society via AP
This Thursday, June 22, 2017 image released by Tokyo Zoological Park Society, shows a 10-day giant panda cub at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. Ueno Zoo said Friday, June 23, 2017 the panda, born on June 12, was ruled a female by examining experts. The still nameless cub has been doing well, drinking mother ShinShin's milk. Panda cubs gradually get black markings on their ears, eyes and paws, and the spots were starting to show.
NBC 5 News
This baby penguin, born to Magellanic penguins Roxy and Floyd of a Long Beach, California, aquarium, is slated to make its webcam debut after the solstice on Friday, June 23, 2017.
TELEMUNDO 40
A 6-foot, 185-pound giraffe calf is born at the Fort Worth Zoo on June 8, 2017.
John Hancock
One-day-old baby giraffe calf Gus stands with his mother Genny at Noah's Ark farm on May 12, 2017 in Bristol, England. The baby giraffe was born yesterday at the zoo farm in North Somerset. In the wild, populations of giraffes are suffering from a continuing decline, with 97,500 estimated in Africa in 2015. Since 1985 the total giraffe population has fallen by 35 percent. New arrival Gus joins brothers George, 4 and Geoffrey, 2.
Matt Maiocco
An Eastern bongo named Annakiya gave birth to a calf at the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston on April 27, 2017. The calf weighed 42 pounds and will periodically be on display at the zoo as weather permits. Since 1984, 17 bongo calves have been born at Franklin Park Zoo. Eastern bongos are a critically endangered species.
Kat Marin/SeaWorld San Diego
A less-than-a-day-old California sea lion pup born at SeaWorld San Diego on April 26. The pup’s mother was rescued by SeaWorld on April 25 on a beach in Oceanside after being observed exhibiting symptoms of domoic acid toxicity.
John Hancock
In this photo provided by Animal Adventure Park in Binghamton, N.Y., a giraffe named April licks her new calf on Saturday, April 15, 2017. Her birth was broadcast to an online audience with more than a million viewers.
AP
Malaysian tiger cubs play with resident nursery dog Blakely at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens, March 29, 2017, in Cincinnati. Three cubs were born on Feb. 3 to 3-year-old Cinta, a first-time mother, in the zoo's captive breeding program who rejected her offspring prompting zookeepers to intervene.
Cincinnati Zoo
Three rare tiger cubs who were rejected by their mother have a surrogate mom of a different stripe. The one month old Malayan cubs are learning the ropes from an Australian Shepherd named Blakely, Cincinnati Zoo's nursemaid who have helped nurture baby cheetahs, skunks and a warthog.
Moreno Valley Police Department
Dobby the giraffe was born on Feb. 28, 2017, at the Denver Zoo at 3 a.m., measuring 5-feet-tall and weighing 73 pounds, both small figures for a newborn giraffe. This was a surprise birth for the zoo, as they didn't know at Kipele (kih-PAY-lay) was pregnant (despite birth control) until recently. “This was certainly a welcome addition to the Denver Zoo family,” said Brian Aucone, the zoo's senior vice president for Animal Care & Conservation. "Dobby may not have been a planned birth, but now that he's here, we're excited to have him and look forward to him engaging with our guests."
Living Desert Zoo
It's a boy! The Living Desert Zoo in Southern California welcomed its first baby of 2017, a jaguar on Jan. 26, 2017.
John Hancock
The Elmwood Park Zoo in Pennsylvania welcomed a pair of jaguar cubs on Jan. 24, 2017.
John Hancock
The Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey, welcomes its first-ever blue penguin chick, born in December 2016.
Brookdale Farm
A foal was born to 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah at 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 3, 2017. The bay colt is the first foal of American Pharoah's initial crop. We'll have to wait and see if the baby is as fast as its father.
AP
Sophia, a 35-year-old Bornean orangutan, holds her 2-week-old daughter at the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois, Dec. 29, 2016. The unnamed infant born on Dec. 20 made her official public debut, Jan. 3, 2017, at the zoo's Tropic World: Asia habitat and can be seen on most mornings.
Adventure Aquarium
The Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey, welcomed a baby loggerhead sea turtle that was born at the North Carolina Aquarium in August 2016. The turtle will spend most of 2017 going through a "survival school" program before it is released off the North Carolina coast.
Tad Motoyama/L.A. Zoo
The Los Angels Zoo announced that a female Masai giraffe was born on Nov. 9, the third baby born to mother Hasina and the first for the father, Phillip. The calf, unveiled for the media on Nov. 22, stands nearly 6 feet tall and weighs around 130 pounds. She doesn't have a name yet.
AP
This undated photo provided by Zoo Atlanta on Nov. 1, 2016, shows twin panda cubs born at the zoo on Sept. 3, 2016, in Atlanta. Atlanta's zoo has revealed that each of its giant panda twins born nearly two months ago is female.
In the Midwest, it's sloth adoption that is a big hit.
The St. Louis Zoo's adopt a sloth program for Valentine’s Day has been so popular that it sold out this week. But other wild animals are up for adoption too, such as a polar bear, cheetah, king penguin and Asian elephant.
At Lincoln Park Zoo, patrons may purchase a special gift for an animal off a wish list. The Chicago-based zoo also offers animal adoptions. The animal wish list includes meaty bones, bamboo stalks, hay and toys.
Meanwhile, the Bronx Zoo is again offering the "name a roach" program after your significant other. The New York City zoo gives donors the opportunity to name its giant Madagascar hissing cockroaches. For $75, you can gift “the works,” which includes a certificate, roach brooch pin, crazy roach socks and a box of artisan chocolates. For $15 you get an electronic certificate in honor of your loved one.
“Roses wither, chocolates melt but roaches are forever," said John F. Calvelli, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) executive vice president of public affairs. "Nothing lasts longer than a roach, so it could be sent as a symbolic gesture about how long your love will last or exactly the opposite. Some might say that love is like a roach – elusive, resilient, and sometimes very scary.”
A Florida zoo has celebrated Valentine's Day with an interactive and educational program for the past 30 years.
Zoo Miami's goodwill ambassador Ron Magill produces a special Valentine's program for adults over age 21. “Sex and the Animals: A Wild Night for Conservation” takes place on Feb. 3 at 7 p.m.
Magill's presentation covers the "incredible facts surrounding the courtship and breeding behaviors found throughout the animal kingdom.” The program covers animal sex behavior from elephants to frogs and draws parallels to human sexuality.
The choice is yours: a box of chocolates, flowers, name a roach or a wild animal adoption experience this Valentine's Day.
A judge has refused to issue an order to seize ballots in a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump's campaign that accuses a Nevada county of keeping polls open beyond closing time Friday, the final night of early voting, NBC News reported. The order would have impounded ballots at early voting sites to determine whether they were cast by voters who didn't make it into line by the scheduled closing time. But Clark County Judge Gloria Sturman sided with the county. The lawsuit — filed Monday night in state court — alleged poll workers at four different polling places in Clark County, Nevada, did not follow protocol. One of the polling sites is in a primarily Hispanic neighborhood in Las Vegas.
