Ultra-rare orange lobster named Clementine rescued from New York grocery store
When a shipment of lobsters arrived at a New York grocery store last month, workers noticed an unusual sight: an orange creature among the brown bunch.
When a shipment of lobsters arrived at a New York grocery store last month, workers noticed an unusual sight: an orange creature among the brown bunch.
The Stop & Shop in Southampton on Long Island hit the pincer Powerball, because only 1 in 30 million lobsters is naturally orange.
The rare crustacean, later named Clementine, quickly became a celebrity at the store. Initially, the store reached out to the Long Island Aquarium, hoping it would take her in, but the aquarium declined the offer, John Di Leonardo, president and executive director of the animal advocacy group Humane Long Island, said in a news release.
That's when the Southampton Animal Shelter stepped in, alerting Humane Long Island about Clementine. After it contacted the grocery store, it quickly secured Clementine's release, and the lobster was returned to sea Tuesday.
"We got ourselves a big saltwater tank to rehab her in, we brought her down to the ocean, and she immediately began foraging," Di Leonardo told NBC News on Wednesday. "She was ready to go as soon as she saw the ocean."
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