There was something obviously very different about one of the lobsters shipped to a Red Lobster® restaurant in Hollywood, Florida. Employees at the restaurant immediately noticed the beautiful, bright orange color of the lobster, and they went on a mission to rescue the unique crustacean. Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach answered the call and happily welcomed the extraordinary orange lobster to her new home this week.
The Red Lobster and Ripley’s Aquarium teams affectionately named the orange lobster Cheddar in a nod to the restaurant’s beloved Cheddar Bay Biscuits®. Cheddar will be forever protected in the safety of her new habitat at Ripley’s. Orange lobsters like Cheddar are extremely rare – one-in-30 million – because their bright, unusual coloring makes them very attractive to predators.
“Sometimes ordinary miracles happen, and Cheddar is one of them,” said Mario Roque, a manager at Red Lobster who led the rescue of Cheddar. “A group of incredible people helped us make this possible. We are so honored to have been able to save Cheddar and find her a good home.”
“We are incredibly proud of Mario and the team for recognizing what a special and rare creature Cheddar is and for working relentlessly to find someone to rescue her,” said Nicole Bott, Senior Director, Communications at Red Lobster. “It is an honor to be able to share the story of Cheddar and provide her a new home where she can be enjoyed by many for years to come, all from the safety of her tank.”
Cheddar joins Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach as it celebrates a major milestone – 25 years of welcoming guests, making memories, and promoting an awareness of conservation. Myrtle Beach is also Ripley’s hub for scientific research. The company’s new Marine Science Research Center, where Cheddar is now acclimating, made waves earlier this year by producing the world’s first successful birth by artificial insemination of a sand tiger shark.