A rare orange lobster that was discovered in a New York grocery store and nearly became someone's meal has returned to its home in the ocean.
It all started last month when employees at a Stop & Shop in Southampton, New York, found an orange lobster believed to have a 1 in 30 million chance of existing in the wild. She was named Clementine and was given a second chance after store employees took her to the Long Island Aquarium in hopes she would make a life there.
Accordingly NBC NewsThe aquarium refused to accept the lobster, prompting the animal rights group Humane Long Island to take action.
“We got ourselves a big saltwater tank to rehabilitate him, brought him to the ocean and he immediately started looking for food,” Humane Long Island president and executive director John Di Leonardo recounted. NBC News“As soon as he saw the ocean he was ready to go.”
On August 27, Clementine was released back into the sea with the help of Humane Long Island. “They all want to live natural lives in the wild,” Di Leonardo explained. “They don't want to be boiling in someone's pot or being stuck in a cramped aquarium.”
View this post on Instagram
Another orange lobster discovered earlier this year also escaped consumption. A Red Lobster employee in Colorado found the crustacean, which he later named Crush. It now lives at the Downtown Aquarium in Denver.
Related: Colorado Red Lobster Restaurant Discovers Rare Orange Lobster
If you see an unusual lobster in the wild, it's probably best to admire this rare beauty from afar.