The Downtown Aquarium in Denver has a new resident — a rare orange lobster that was rescued from a shipment of crustaceans delivered to a Red Lobster restaurant in Pueblo, Colorado
The Downtown Aquarium in Denver has welcomed a new resident — a rare orange lobster rescued from a shipment of crustaceans delivered to a Red Lobster restaurant in Pueblo, Colorado.
A long-term employee, who works as a dishwasher and head biscuit maker, noticed the bright orange lobster while unpacking a shipment last Friday and informed the restaurant managers, according to aquarium officials. The staff named the lobster Crush after the Denver Broncos’ legendary Orange Crush defense from 1976 to 1986.
“Myself and many of my team are born and raised Denver Broncos fans, so as soon as we saw that orange color, we knew that Crush would be an excellent representation,” said Kendra Kastendieck, the restaurant’s general manager. “And we all want our defensive line to be that good again.”
When the Pueblo Zoo couldn’t accommodate Crush, Kastendieck contacted the Downtown Aquarium, which expressed immediate interest. Kastendieck packed Crush with ice packs in a plastic foam container and delivered it to the aquarium on Wednesday.
“As soon as they acclimated him to his quarantine tank at the Denver aquarium, he was very active right off the bat and was really exploring his little area,” Kastendieck said Thursday.
Staff had prepared a tank featuring a new-generation Denver Broncos helmet on top and an older-generation one inside the tank “so he can actually climb into it and play around it,” she added.
Crush will be examined by a veterinarian and, after 30 days in quarantine, will join the “Lurks” exhibit, which houses other cold water North Atlantic Ocean species, aquarium staff said.
“We are thrilled to be able to share this very rare and extraordinary animal with the community and visitors to Colorado,” Ryan Herman, general curator at Denver Downtown Aquarium, said in a statement.
Crush was shipped to the Pueblo restaurant from a supplier in Tennessee and was caught off the coast of Canada, though Kastendieck couldn’t confirm which coast.
Genetic mutations can lead to lobsters that are orange, blue, and yellow. The Downtown Aquarium has previously hosted an orange lobster.
In addition to Crush, the Downtown Aquarium is home to more than 700 species of fish, a stingray reef, and three Sumatran tigers.