Tops Markets workers in Hamburg were unloading a 25-pound box of live lobsters Saturday when they got a surprise – a bright orange lobster packed among its mud red peers.
“They opened it up and all of a sudden they’re like, ‘This doesn’t look right. Something’s not right with this lobster,’ ” said Jay Knavel, manager at the South Park Avenue store.
But one worker took a look at it and knew just what they had on their hands – an exceptional creature that would not be going home to be anyone’s dinner. He had heard of such crustaceans while working at Red Lobster.
Some Googling and a call to the corporate office confirmed it. Larry – that’s his name now – was a rare specimen. One in 30 million to be exact. He’s a lobster like any other, but the bright color is caused by a genetic mutation.
Workers dropped him into the lobster tank for safe keeping while they tried to figure out what to do with him.
“It brought all the kids over to look at it. It was a conversation piece,” Knavel said. “Of course people want to buy him, but he’s not for sale.”
Tops called the Niagara Aquarium for help, and it has agreed to take Larry in while finding the lobster a new home.
“We don’t have space in an exhibit for it, but with our network we have other Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited institutions around the country, we can coordinate with others,” said Rafael Calderon, the aquarium’s curator of fish and invertebrates.
Despite the creatures being so rare, this is not the first time one has been discovered in a tank and rescued from a dinner plate. The Niagara Aquarium and its network of aquariums have rescued orange – and even blue – lobsters from the tanks of grocery stores and restaurants in the past. In fact, the Niagara Falls aquarium already owns one orange lobster, who is part of its ambassador program that visits schools.
Over the summer, two orange lobsters arrived in close succession to one another at Red Lobster restaurants in…
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