Rare Orange Lobster Saved by Denver Broncos Fans

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. A long-term employee spotted the bright orange lobster while unpacking a shipment last Friday and alerted restaurant managers, reports the AP. The staff named it 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,” says 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 take Crush, Kastendieck called the Downtown Aquarium, which she said was interested right away. Kastendieck packed Crush with ice packs in a container and delivered him 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 says. Staff had set up a tank with a new generation Denver Broncos helmet on top and an older generation one sitting in the tank “so he can actually climb into it and play around it,” she said. Crush will be examined by a veterinarian and after 30 days in quarantine will be placed in the “Lurks” exhibit that 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,” says Ryan Herman, general curator at Denver Downtown Aquarium, in a statement. Crush was shipped to the Pueblo restaurant from a supplier in Tennessee. It was caught off of Canada, says Kastendieck, but she was unable to confirm which coast. Genetic mutations can lead to lobsters that are orange, blue, and yellow. Downtown Aquarium has had one orange lobster previously.

(More lobsters stories.)