People saved an extremely rare orange lobster (3 photos + 1 video)

An extremely rare orange lobster that was part of a shipment at a New York City store has been released back into the wild by an animal rights group.





Humane Long Island reported on social media that workers at a Southampton Stop & Shop found the orange lobster among the standard brown ones that arrived in a recent shipment.

The store offered the crustacean to the Long Island Aquarium, but employees declined.

The Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation learned of the lobster's situation and contacted Humane Long Island, which contacted Stop & Shop.



The lobster, now named Clementine, was rehabilitated by a veterinarian before being released back into Long Island Sound.

"Lobsters are sensitive, intelligent animals that can travel up to 100 miles or more per year. Like all aquatic animals, lobsters will feel pain and distress when they are removed from their marine home to be eaten or placed in cramped tanks. Humane Long Island encourages everyone to celebrate Clementine's successful return to the wild by respecting all lobsters and not eating them, because no compassionate person should cook an animal alive," said John DiLeonardo, executive director of Humane Long Island.



The publication notes that the orange coloring occurs in only one in 30 million lobsters.