TThe Downtown Aquarium in Denver has a new resident – a rare orange lobster that was rescued from a shipment of shellfish delivered to a Red Lobster restaurant in Pueblo, Colorado.
A longtime employee who is a dishwasher and cookie maker spotted the bright orange lobster while unpacking a shipment last Friday and alerted restaurant managers, aquarium officials said. The team named him Crush after the Denver Broncos’ legendary Orange Crush defense from 1976 to 1986.
“A lot of my team members and I were born and raised Denver Broncos fans, so as soon as we saw that orange color, we knew Crush would be a great representation,” said Kendra Kastendieck, the restaurant’s general manager. “And we all want our defensive line to be this good again.”
When the Pueblo Zoo was unable to host Crush, Kastendieck called the Downtown Aquarium, which she said was immediately interested.
Kastendieck packed Crush with ice packs in a foam plastic container and delivered him to the aquarium on Wednesday.
“Once they got him used to his quarantine tank at the Denver Aquarium, he was very active right from the start and was really exploring his little area,” Kastendieck said Thursday.
The team set up a tank with a new-generation Denver Broncos helmet on top and an older generation on the tank “so he can actually climb on it and play with it,” she said.
Crush will be examined by a veterinarian and after 30 days in quarantine will be placed in the “Lurks” exhibit, which houses other cold-water species from the North Atlantic Ocean, aquarium officials said.
“We are thrilled to be able to share this very rare and extraordinary animal with the Colorado community and visitors,” said Ryan Herman, general curator of the Denver Downtown Aquarium, in a statement.
Crush was shipped to the Pueblo restaurant from a supplier in Tennessee. It was captured off the coast of Canada, Kastendieck said, but she could not confirm which coast.
Genetic mutations can lead to orange, blue and yellow lobsters. Downtown Aquarium has had an orange lobster before.
The Downtown Aquarium has more than 700 species of fish, plus a stingray reef and three Sumatran tigers.
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Hanson reported from Helena, Montana.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
