Lobster diverted from dinner plate to aquarium

DENVER

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 who is a dishwasher and head biscuit maker spotted the bright orange lobster while unpacking a shipment last week and alerted restaurant managers, aquarium officials said. The staff named it Crush after the Denver Broncos' legendary Orange Crush defense from 1976 to 1986.

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 plastic foam container and delivered it to the aquarium on July 17.

“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 said yesterday.

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.