In a rare turn of fate, three extraordinarily rare orange lobsters narrowly avoided the dinner plate and are now swimming free in the Long Island Sound, thanks to a swift rescue by the animal advocacy group Humane Long Island.
Named Peaches, Sebastian and Clawdia, the lobsters were discovered earlier this month in the seafood sections of ShopRite stores in Bay Shore, N.Y., and Wallingford, Conn. Their vibrant orange shells mark them as 1-in-30-million anomalies, a rare genetic mutation that not only sets them apart from their brown-shelled counterparts but also appears to run in families.
“The genetic anomaly that results in a striking orange complexion is extremely rare, only 1-in-30-million, but it is hereditary, so when one is spotted in a local store, other members of their family often appear at other locations,” explains John Di Leonardo, anthrozoologist and executive director of Humane Long Island.
The rescue was prompted by a Good Samaritan who saw social media posts about the unusual lobsters and alerted Humane Long Island. The group quickly intervened, securing their release just around the same date that three other orange lobsters were rescued and rehomed from Long Island seafood departments last year.
The lobsters were released into the Long Island Sound within hours of their rescue. According to Humane Long Island, the animals were seen swimming, foraging, and exploring their new surroundings — one even followed the rescuers briefly before disappearing into the deep. Orange lobsters in the wild are expected to travel up to 100 miles each year.
The organization is asking the public to keep an eye out for any other unusually colored lobsters that might show up in seafood displays and to contact them if more are spotted. Theyre also inviting supporters to attend their Summer Gala on Aug. 2 to help fund future rescues.
“While the chance of finding an orange lobster is 1 in 30 million, rarer still is for one of them to be returned to the sea,” Di Leonardo said. “Over 300 million lobsters are trapped and killed annually. Like all aquatic animals, lobsters want to live free rather than be confined to a cramped aquarium or a boiling pot, and Humane Long Island reminds the public that they can save two hundred animals like Sebastian, Clawdia, and Peaches annually by simply leaving animals off their plate.”
