That was close.
A 1-in-30-million orange lobster was rescued and returned to the sea by animal advocacy organization Humane Long Island after being spotted in the seafood section of a Southampton Stop & Shop by staff at the local animal shelter.
The crustacean, aptly named Clementine, became an immediate celebrity once word of her spectacular uniqueness spread at the grocery store. HumaneLI says store management fed her shrimp and the manager's young daughter nicknamed her "Pinky."
Once Humane Long Island got word of the rarity, its executive director reached out to Stop & Shop management, who agreed to donate the rare lobster for rehabilitation and release to the wild.
"Within hours, Clementine was swimming, foraging, and exploring the Long Island Sound, playfully following us around before disappearing into the ocean depths where she’ll travel as far as 100 miles or more each year," the organization said in a press release.
While the chance of finding an orange lobster is 1 in 30 million, rarer still is for one of them to be returned to the sea, according to Humane Long Island.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
