Unusual Orange Lobster Saved from Becoming Dinner, Experts Say It Was ‘One in 30 million Find’

£23 million Government Fund Made Available To British Fishing Industry Affected By Brexit Red Tape

WEYMOUTH, ENGLAND - JANUARY 22: A rare blue lobster is seen during the unloading of the Dartmouth Crab Company fishing vessel MFV William Henry II on January 22, 2021 in Weymouth, England. Fishing firms and seafood exporters across the UK have been severely disrupted by the new post-Brexit customs checks and red-tape for exports to the EU. The government has announced a £23m package of support for the industry, which is estimated to be losing more than £1 million a day. Firms are calling for a six-month grace period to be introduced while exporters and port staff get used to new paperwork and processes at the border.
(Photo : Photo by Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)

It was Cheddar's lucky day: from someone's date night dinner to becoming a famous lobster in Hollywood, Florida.

The orange lobster was indeed a rare sea creature, as she did not go unnoticed by one of the staff at the Red Lobster restaurant.

Struck with its unusual golden color, one you see cooked on a plate, the workers sought opinion from experts in Ripley's Aquarium in Myrtle Beach, and sure enough, two members identified the crustacean as an orange lobster - a one in a million find - Good News Network reported.

"Sometimes ordinary miracles happen, and Cheddar is one of them," said Mario Roque, a manager at Red Lobster who led the rescue of Cheddar, adding that a group of "incredible people" helped them save Cheddar and find her a good home.

Forever Home

Cheddar now found a forever home at the aquarium, named after Red Lobster's famous Cheddar Bay Biscuits.

"Ripley's Aquarium of Myrtle Beach is honored to become Cheddar's forever home," the aquarium emailed CNN. "Though the odd and unusual are a part of everyday life here at Ripley's, orange lobsters like Cheddar are truly one in 30 million."

Cheddar was also brought to Ripley's Marine Science Research Center in Myrtle Beach to acclimate at the scientific research facility before she was moved to the aquarium.

According to Ripley's, orange lobsters are "super rare", even rarer than blue lobsters, which is only one in a million.

This was not the first time the Red Lobster restaurant rescued a rare lobster.

In 2021, the workers spot a male calico lobster, which they believed was also born at a rate of 1 in 30 million, Good News Network previously wrote.

The staff in Manassas named him Freckles as he arrived at the Virginia restaurant as part of a regular delivery from Maine.

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Hope for Rarity

A spokesperson of the Red Lobster restaurant said that lobsters of rarity are vulnerable in the wild.

"Calico-colored lobsters like Freckles are so rare because their coloring makes them very visible and thus vulnerable to predators," he said. "Because a calico-colored lobster is so rare and vulnerable in the wild, it was important that we found him a good home versus setting him free in the wild where he likely would not survive."

Freckles was taken under the care of Virginia Living Museum and was transported safely to his new home at Chesapeake Bay Gallery.

Freckles, and now Cheddar, are representations of how important education about sustainable seafood practices is and significance of conservation efforts of the American lobster fishery.

"We are grateful that Red Lobster's Team recognized the significance of such a rarity and hope to spread crustacean conservation with guests from around the world for years to come," the aquarium stated.

"Though the odd and unusual are a part of everyday life here at Ripley's, orange lobsters like Cheddar are truly one in 30 million."