The Downtown Aquarium in Denver, Colorado, has recently welcomed a new “resident.” This is a rare bright orange lobster that was rescued from a shipment destined for the Red Lobster restaurant in Pueblo, Colorado.
While unloading the shipment on July 12, a long-time employee, who works as a cook and dishwasher, discovered the bright orange lobster and reported it to the restaurant manager, aquarium staff said.
They named it Crush after the legendary Orange Crush defense lineup of the Denver Broncos football team, which played from 1976 to 1986, according to ABC News.
Rare orange lobster. (Photo: Downtown Aquarium Denver).
“Many of us on the team were born and raised as Denver Broncos fans. So, as soon as we saw that orange color, we knew Crush would be a great representative,” shared Kendra Kastendieck, the restaurant’s general manager.
When the Pueblo Zoo was unable to take in Crush, Kastendieck called the Downtown Aquarium, where she said they showed immediate interest.
Kastendieck packaged Crush with ice in a styrofoam box and delivered it to the aquarium on July 17.
“As soon as they let it acclimate in the quarantine tank at the Denver aquarium, it became very active and explored its small area,” Kastendieck recounted.
The staff placed a new Denver Broncos football helmet on top and an older one in the tank “so the lobster could climb in and play around,” she added.
Aquarium staff stated that Crush will be examined by a veterinarian and after 30 days of quarantine, it will be moved to the exhibit “Lurks,” which houses cold-water Atlantic species.
“We are thrilled to be able to share this extremely rare and special animal with the community and visitors to Colorado,” said Ryan Herman, a curator at the Downtown Aquarium.
Crush was transferred to the Pueblo restaurant from a supplier in Tennessee. Kastendieck noted that it was caught off the coast of Canada, though she could not confirm which coastline.
Genetic mutations can lead to lobsters that are orange, blue, and yellow. The Downtown Aquarium previously had an orange lobster.
In fact, according to the aquarium, there is one orange lobster for every 30 million lobsters.
Experts indicate that with such bright and striking shell colors, the orange lobster easily becomes a target for predators in the wild.
To evade predators, lobsters typically have dark blue or green colors. However, due to genetic variations, lobsters can sometimes have yellow shells or speckled yellow shells.
One of the rarest types of lobsters is called “Halloween”, which has a shell that is half black and half orange. There is only one such lobster for every 100 million lobsters. Fishermen have also caught lobsters known as “cotton” or “ghost” lobsters because their shells are white or translucent.
