Animal rights activists have come to the rescue after an “ultra-rare” lobster was spotted in a supermarket.
Employees at a Long Island Stop & Shop spotted the rare lobster, named Clementime, in a store shipment and began caring for the crustacean.
In an effort to “save her from the trap,” the store attempted to donate Clementine to the Long Island Aquarium, according to a Facebook post by Humane Long Island (HLI).
The aquarium refused, and that’s when HLI members stepped in, releasing Clementine into the ocean earlier this week.
Employees spotted an orange lobster at a Stop & Shop and contacted Humane Long Island (HLI)
In a Instagram videoHLI executive director John Di Leonardo confirmed that Clementine was “one in 30 million lobsters born orange.”
Di Leonardo and other HIL members secured Clementine and worked to get her healthy enough to return to sea.
“We got a big tank of saltwater to rehabilitate her, took her out to the ocean and she immediately started looking for food,” Di Leonardo said. NBC News.
After her release, Clementine set out to explore the Long Island Sound.
“Everyone wants to live a natural life in nature. They don’t want to boil in someone’s pot or stay in a cramped aquarium,” Di Leonardo said.
Once HIL intervened, John Di Leonardo and his team of experts cared for the crustacean and released it into the wild earlier this week.
Orange lobsters get their color from a genetic mutation that “affects and prevents coding proteins,” according to Ryan Herman of Denver’s Downtown Aquarium.
They can be found in a variety of marine environments, including aquariums.
They can also weigh more than 40 pounds, grow more than three feet long, and live up to 100 years.
“Lobsters are sensitive and intelligent animals that can travel up to 100 miles or more each year,” Di Leonardo said in his Facebook post.
‘Like all aquatic animals, lobsters feel pain and suffer when they are taken from their ocean homes to be eaten or confined in cramped aquariums.’
Orange lobsters can eat a variety of foods, including vegetables, worms, and shrimp.
Orange lobsters get their color from a genetic mutation
Di Leonardo believes that boiling lobsters is not necessary and has advised animal lovers to become vegan.
“We’ve rescued over 200 animals this year, but saving 200 animals is as easy as not eating them,” he told NBC News.
“It’s never been easier to keep animals off your plate… You can get vegan lobster rolls. You can go to the store and buy crab-free burgers that you can microwave.”