1-in-30 million orange lobster found in Pueblo settling in at Downtown Aquarium in Denver

Zach Hillstrom, Pueblo Chieftain
·3 min read

An incredibly rare orange lobster found at a Pueblo seafood restaurant last week is making himself comfortable in his new permanent home.

"Crush," the cantaloupe-colored crustacean that was found in a live lobster shipment sent to the Pueblo Red Lobster on July 12, was transferred to the Downtown Aquarium in Denver on July 17.

Aquarium officials told the Chieftain they decided to make Crush one of their permanent residents to "share this very rare and extraordinary animal with our community and visitors to Colorado."

Crush, a rare orange lobster, stands beside a Denver Broncos helmet at the bottom of his current tank. The crustacean was primarily named in honor of the Broncos' Orange Crush defense of the late 1970s.
Crush, a rare orange lobster, stands beside a Denver Broncos helmet at the bottom of his current tank. The crustacean was primarily named in honor of the Broncos' Orange Crush defense of the late 1970s.

Crush — primarily named for the late-1970s "Orange Crush" Denver Broncos defense — will have to be in quarantine for 30 days, after which point he'll be moved to the aquarium's "Lurks" exhibit to live alongside other cold water North Atlantic Ocean species, aquarium officials said.

Crush will have some company in his new digs, as the exhibit already houses some American spiny lobsters, as well as Galapagos slipper lobsters.

Members of the public who want to catch a glimpse of Crush will have to wait until he's inspected by a veterinarian and is out of quarantine, which aquarium officials said will likely happen between late August and early September.

Downtown Aquarium workers get a look at Crush, the rre orange lobster who came to live at the aquarium on July 17.
Downtown Aquarium workers get a look at Crush, the rre orange lobster who came to live at the aquarium on July 17.

How rare is an orange lobster?

Orange lobsters — which get their color from a seldom-seen genetic mutation — like Crush are extremely rare, as they represent just one in 30 million of their species, according to the Downtown Aquarium. By comparison, blue lobsters are found in about one out of every 2 million lobsters, according to the University of New England.

Aquarium officials told the Chieftain orange lobsters aren't only rare in nature, but also in aquarium settings — the Downtown Aquarium has only had one other "orange morph" lobster in its collection over its 25-year history.

A rare orange lobster nicknamed "Crush" was discovered in a live shipment delivered to the Red Lobster in Pueblo.
A rare orange lobster nicknamed "Crush" was discovered in a live shipment delivered to the Red Lobster in Pueblo.

How Crush wound up in Colorado

Crush was delivered to the Pueblo Red Lobster on July 12, as part of one of the "seven or eight" seafood shipments the restaurant receives in any given month, restaurant General Manager Kendra Kastendieck told the Chieftain.

Jose Romero, a longtime dishwasher at the restaurant whose duties include unpacking all the live lobster shipments, immediately recognized that this one was exceptional.

“The first thought that went through his head was that he’s seen a blue lobster before, which was different, but he’s never seen an orange one,” Romero recalled for the Chieftain through a translator. “When he saw it he just immediately was like … ‘Let me go get my leadership.’”

Pueblo Red Lobster General Manager Kendra Kastendieck shows off "Crush" the rare orange lobster that was found in a live shipment to the restaurant.
Pueblo Red Lobster General Manager Kendra Kastendieck shows off "Crush" the rare orange lobster that was found in a live shipment to the restaurant.

“Everybody knows the blue lobsters because they make such headlines and they’re so brilliant in color, but those are only one in 2 million, the orange ones are one in 30 million," Kastendieck said. "So we thought that was extra cool when it came into the restaurant."

On Tuesday, restaurant staff contacted the Denver Downtown Aquarium, which agreed to take him in. Kastendieck then delivered Crush to the aquarium, saving him from becoming dinner for a hungry Red Lobster diner.

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Chieftain Editor Zach Hillstrom can be reached at zhillstrom@gannett.com, or on X at @ZachHillstrom. Support local news, subscribe to the Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: The rare orange lobster rescued in Pueblo has a new home