Incredibly Rare Orange Lobster Saved From NY Supermarket

A supermarket shopper in Rochester, New York, stumbled across something you don’t see every day: an incredibly rare, orange lobster.

According to animal advocates from Humane Long Island, the lobster, nicknamed Jean-Clawd Van Dam, was recently returned to freedom after being spotted by Good Samaritan Kyle Brancato at a Tops supermarket in Rochester.
Read More: Beloved Saratoga County Eatery & Venue Closing After 12 Years 

1 in 30 Million

How rare is finding an orange lobster?  Experts say orange lobsters are incredibly rare, with a genetic mutation making them a one-in-30-million find.

Instead of winding up on someone’s dinner plate, Jean-Clawd got a second chance at life thanks to the animal advocacy group.

Released on Long Island

Executive Director John Di Leonardo personally released the ultra-rare crustacean into the Long Island Sound, where it can continue its journey as a “diamond in the rough.”

“Lobsters are sensitive, intelligent animals who can travel as far as 100 miles or more each year,” Di Leonardo explained. “Like all aquatic animals, they feel pain and suffer when taken from their homes to be eaten or kept in cramped aquariums.”

Humane Long Island pointed out that countries like Switzerland, Norway, and New Zealand have already banned the practice of boiling lobsters alive, calling it unnecessary and inhumane.

Treated as Novelties

The group added that while Jean-Clawd was lucky, 100 million lobsters are still killed in the US annually, including rare orange, yellow, and blue lobsters that are often treated as novelties.

For now, though, Jean-Clawd swims free, and rightfully so.  This ultra-rare orange crustacean is much happier swimming in the ocean than it would be on your dinner plate.