A very lucky lobster has a new home now after narrowly missing ending up on a plate next to a vat of butter and a side of Cheddar Bay biscuits. Instead, he’s now an honored guest at an Ohio Zoo for the rest of what could be a very long life. Here’s how it happened:
Blue Lobster
If you’ve ever been to a Red Lobster, you know the seafood restaurant has a large tank at the front of each restaurant filled with live lobsters. If they like, diners can choose which lobster they want for dinner. Restaurants regularly receive shipments of live lobsters. This time, however, employees noticed something different. A bright blue lobster sitting in the tank.
The employees realized that blue lobsters are incredibly rare. According to the Akron Zoo, they occur in only one of every 2 million of the crustaceans. They realized this fellow was too precious to end up on the plate. They named him Clawde and contacted the restaurant chain’s unlikely partner for help.
Conservation Partnership
The Red Lobster Restaurant Chain formed a conservation partnership with an organization called Seafood Watch through the Monterey Bay Aquarium back in 2018. While an alliance between a group that wants to protect ocean creatures and a restaurant chain that wants to serve them with a side of cocktail sauce, seems unusual, Red Lobster said they share a goal, “to help achieve the organizations’ shared mission of helping make better seafood choices for healthier oceans, now and for future generations.”
As part of the partnership, Red Lobster said it supports best fishing and farming practices and insists suppliers provide detailed sourcing information about their products.
Akron Zoo
The rare lobster was spared the plate but now needed a new home. Lobsters can live up to a hundred years. The Monterey Bay Aquarium reached out to the Akron Zoo. The zoo is also a conservation partner through Seafood Watch.
When the zoo learned of their new arrival they quickly began to prepare a new home for their rare quest. Zoo officials said the blue color is a result of a genetic anomaly.
Animal caregivers prepared a special tank they call “Clawde’s Man Cave.” Clawde, named after the Red Lobster Mascot, resides in the Komodo Kingdom Building. The Komodo Kingdom is an education center housing Komodo Dragons, sharks, snakes, and other creatures.
Zoo staff members said Clawde is acclimating well to his new home. Visitors won’t be able to meet Clawde for a little while. The Komodo Kingdom is closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.