A rare orange lobster was released back into the ocean in late August, after being discovered in the seafood section of a New York grocery store.
Humane Long Island, the animal advocacy group that returned the lobster to the wild, said the crustacean was “an ultra-rare 1-in-30-million orange lobster.”
Video of the lobster’s release shows the crustacean being taken out of an orange and gray container by members of the Human Long Island team. They then clip off rubber bands from around the lobster’s claws and then release her into the water.
“Good luck, buddy!” someone says off-screen, as the lobster begins her journey out to sea.
The orange lobster.
(Humane Long Island /TMX / FOX Weather)
The lobster was initially found earlier this summer at a Stop and Shop in the Long Island neighborhood of Southampton. She was part of a shipment of traditional brown lobsters.
Most American lobsters are either greenish-brown or olive-green, according to NOAA. The crustaceans only turn red or red-orange after they are cooked.
The orange lobster at Stop and Shop caught the attention of staff at the Southampton grocery store and became a celebrity, with the manager’s young daughter calling her “Pinky” and store management feeding her shrimp.
ORANGE LOBSTER SAVED AFTER ALMOST BEING COOKED AT RED LOBSTER
The store reportedly offered to save the lobster by sending her to the Long Island Aquarium, according to Humane Long Island.
36-year-old Luke Rand from Portland, Maine and his father captured the crustacean in the Gulf of Maine. Rand says a lobsterman can go his entire career without catching a blue lobster. (Video credit: Luke Rand)
The Southampton Animal Foundation then alerted Humane Long Island of the orange lobster. Humane Long Island Executive Director John Di Leonardo contacted the grocery store management, who agreed to donate the lobster for rehabilitation and return to the sea.
According to Humane Long Island, their team rehabilitated the crustacean by consulting a veterinarian and providing her with a cold saltwater tank.
She was also given another name, inspired by a fruit with a similar color: “Clementine”.
“Within hours, Clementine was swimming, foraging, and exploring the Long Island Sound, playfully following us around before disappearing into the ocean depths where she’ll travel as far as 100 miles or more each year,” the team said.
Humane Long Island Executive Director John Di Leonardo with Clementine.
(Humane Long Island /TMX / FOX Weather)
Di Leonardo noted that lobsters are sensitive, intelligent creatures.
“Like all aquatic animals, lobsters will pain and suffer when taken from their ocean homes to be eaten or confined to cramped aquariums,” he said. “Humane Long Island urges everyone to celebrate Clementine’s successful journey back to the wild by respecting all lobsters and not eating them, because no compassionate person should boil an animal alive.”