A vibrant orange lobster, dubbed "Crush" after the Denver Broncos' "Orange Crush" defense, was discovered by employees at a Red Lobster restaurant in Pueblo, Colorado while unpacking a live shipment from Canada.
The striking orange color, occurring in just 1 out of 30 million lobsters due to a genetic mutation affecting proteins, initially puzzled some diners.
After the Pueblo Zoo couldn't accommodate Crush, the Downtown Aquarium in Denver, housing over 700 species of fish, a stingray reef, and Sumatran tigers, agreed to take him.
The restaurant's general manager, Kendra Kastendieck, a Broncos fan, delivered Crush with ice packs to the aquarium, where he will spend 30 days in quarantine before being placed in an exhibit with other North Atlantic Ocean species, potentially with Broncos helmets for him to play with.
Blue lobsters are also rare, with a 1 in 2 million chance of being found, while American lobsters are abundant in coastal waters from Maine to New Jersey and can live up to 100 years. Other rare lobster colors include yellow, grey, dusty orange, and multi-colored or spotted variations, all caused by genetic mutations affecting protein coloration.
In recent years, two other orange lobsters, named "Biscuit" and "Cheddar," were found at Red Lobster locations.
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq
Sources: USA Today, Washington Times, TIME, CBS News, Yahoo News, Newser, The Prowers Journal, Boing Boing, Chieftain, Post and Courier, Weather News Point, HeadTopics, The State, People, FOX Weather, Sentinel Colorado, Canoe, Toronto Sun.