For many people, lobsters are a delicious delicacy. People pay good money to have fresh lobster at a nice restaurant. But one extremely rare crustacean was deemed too unique to serve up for dinner plate, in a story that shows that sometimes it pays to be different.
The Nobu Japanese restaurant, in Scottsdale, Arizona got a shipment of lobsters to be used in their menu, but among the normally reddish-brown lobsters they noticed one looked very different.
This lobster was bright orange — an extremely rare trait that has been called a “one-in-30 million uniqueness.”
Maybe some diners would’ve paid good money to eat such a special lobster, however, the kitchen staff decided to do the right thing.
Seeing how extraordinarily rare this lobster was, they called the local OdySea Aquarium to donate it. The aquarium was eager to accept.
“The chance of finding a lobster this color in the wild is one in 30 million, so we are really fortunate to have it in our collection,” Dave Peranteau, director of animal care at OdySea Aquarium, told 12News. “We are grateful to Nobu for recognizing the lobster’s significance and reaching out to us regarding this incredible ambassador for its species.”
Normally the right thing to do would be to release the lobster back into the sea where it came from — but unfortunately, the same rare trait that spared him from being a human’s dinner would make him easy prey back in the wild.
“An orange lobster is likely to live much longer in an aquarium than it would in the wild, where its bright shell would make it an easy target for predators compared to its mud-colored counterparts,” the aquarium explained on Facebook. “Lobsters can live 100 years, grow over 3-feet-long and weigh more than 40 pounds.”
The lobster is now in the aquarium’s care as they are preparing an “ideal habitat” for him. He’s set to have a long, peaceful life — not having to worried about being served with butter.
What a beautiful, rare lobster. We’re so glad his life was spared and he was given the best chance at survival.
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