Lobster liberation

A giant lobster named George escaped a dinner-table fate and was released Saturday into the Atlantic Ocean after a New York seafood restaurant granted him his freedom, according to a statement from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

George the lobster was a "sort of mascot" for City Crab and Seafood in New York.

The lobster, which PETA said was 140 years old and weighed 20 pounds, had been confined to a tank at City Crab and Seafood restaurant in Manhattan when two customers alerted the animal group.

From CNN. Other giant lobsters haven't fared well under parallel circumstances: a 22-pounder nicknamed "Bubba" died a few years ago shortly after being taken in by the Pittsburgh Zoo, which was noted along with some other similar cases in a CBS article which also noted the likely exaggeration of Bubba's -- and, by extension, George's -- age:

Based on how long it typically takes a lobster to reach eating size -- about five to seven years to grow to a pound -- some observers estimated Bubba was about 100 years old. But marine biologists said 30 to 50 years was more likely. . .

Bubba's not the largest lobster on record. Guinness World Records reports the heaviest marine crustacean as 44 pounds, 6 ounces. That lobster, more than twice Bubba's size, was caught off Nova Scotia in 1977.

Posted by David on January 11, 2009 8:47 PM