Orange and blue lobsters find new home at Bonne Bay Marine Station
Two lucky lobsters on the west coast have been spared the fate of a supermarket seafood display — or worse — thanks to their unusual colours.
Staff at Coleman's at the Gardens in Corner Brook happened upon the bright orange and dusky blue lobsters packed in a recent shipment to the grocery store.
"I guess they opened up the crate, and out came these two fantastic coloured lobsters," said Allison Eaton, the manager of the Bonne Bay Marine Station, the lobsters' new home.
Coleman's contacted the research centre and aquarium in Norris Point to offer up the orange female and blue male, and Eaton said they jumped at the chance.
"They will be a key attraction for us," she said.
Uncommon creatures
Eaton estimated the chances of a blue lobster are one in two million, while an orange lobster is one in 30 million.
"The orange one is bright orange — it actually looks like it's been cooked. It's probably the brightest orange one we've had so far, so it's really beautiful," she said.
Colemans and the marine station ran a naming contest for the two. Although the final names have yet to be revealed, marine station student Greg English had a few ideas.
"I was thinking Orange Crush. It likes to try to pinch us when we pick it up, so I think that's a suiting name," he said.
And for the blue guy. English only had to look as far as the nearest beer bottle for a little Newfoundland inspiration, "Blue Star."
With files from Colleen Connors