SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — A rare, 1 in 30 million orange lobster was rescued from a Southampton supermarket and given a second chance at life recently, an animal rights group said.
According to John Di Leonardo, anthropozoologist and executive director of Humane Long Island, the lobster was spotted in the seafood section of a Stop & Shop in Southampton by staff from the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation.
The odds of catching an orange lobster are one in 30 million, according to Marcus Frederickprofessor of marine science at the University of New England. Lobsters can be turned orange through genetic mutation.
Arriving with a load of traditional brown lobsters ahead of the Fourth of July, the rare orange lobster – now affectionately called 'Clementine' – became an instant celebrity at the Southampton grocer – fed prawns by the store's management and nicknamed 'Pinky' by the director's children. daughter, Di Leonardo said.
After the Southampton Animal Shelter notified Humane Long Island about the crustacean, Di Leonardo said he contacted Stop & Shop management, who quickly agreed to donate the rare lobster for rehabilitation and release it into the wild.
Tracy McLaren, a trap, spay and release specialist at the Southampton Animal Shelter, said she had read about the lobster when a sea of residents began discussing its plight online on Nextdoor.
“Everyone was making suggestions, but nothing was actually being done, so I went down there myself on Saturday morning and saw the lobster in the tank.”
McLaren said she made several calls, including to Karen Testa of Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons, who wanted to help but told McLaren her facility was full.
Then he reached out to Di Leonardo — and he was there on time with the delivery papers. “Somebody had to get down and do something, so I did,” McLaren said. “Within 45 minutes, John (Di Leonardo) had the delivery papers.”
She added that as a vegetarian, the protection of all animals is critical to her. “I feel so guilty, saving only one and not the rest,” she said. He added that he hopes the story will raise awareness and that people can “go without those lobster bakes” and save the crustaceans.
Of the rescue, she said, “I'm so very happy.”
Humane Long Island consulted with a veterinarian, prepared a tank of cold seawater for rehabilitation and began reacclimating the crustacean to the sea, Di Leonardo said.
“Within hours, Clementine was swimming, foraging and exploring Long Island Sound, playfully following us before disappearing into the ocean depths where she will travel up to 100 miles or more each year,” he said.
Di Leonardo added: “Lobsters are sensitive, intelligent animals. Like all aquatic animals, lobsters will feel pain and suffer when they are taken from their ocean homes to be eaten or confined to cramped aquariums.”
He added: “Humane Long Island urges everyone to celebrate Clementine's successful journey back into the wild by respecting all lobsters and not eating them, because no compassionate human should boil an animal alive.”
Humane Long Island thanked Southampton Stop & Shop for donating the lobster by sending management a gift basket of vegan lobster-shaped chocolates and vegan crab-free cakes along with PETA's vegan starter kit.
Stop & Shop media representatives said the storm team worked with Humane LI, which collected the lobster to “care for” the crustacean and prepare it for release. they added that the result was “wonderful!”
