Rare orange lobster, Cheddar, now on display at Ripley’s Aquarium

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - A rare orange lobster that captured the hearts of the Grand Strand can now be seen by everyone in Myrtle Beach!

Cheddar, the one-in-30-million crustacean, is currently on display at Ripley’s Aquarium after being rescued from a shipment to a Red Lobster in Florida last year.

“It’s kind of great thing to see bringing all this attention to even though she is a rare lobster,” said Stacia White, Director of Animal Husbandry at Ripley’s Aquarium in Myrtle Beach. “It’s bringing attention to her species so we can tell the message of conservation things all about lobsters.”

Cheddar’s public debut comes after a stay at the aquarium’s research center. White and others at the aquarium said they’re really excited for more people to get a look at the undersea rarity.

“Just seeing the public’s reaction to her, coming out in front of the exhibit and talking with people who come just to see her,” she said. “So it’s amazing how this one little lobster can get so much attention but get so much reaction out of people it really shows how much animals make an impact on people.”

Experts say the orange coloring actually makes lobsters more vulnerable to predators since they don’t blend in nearly as well as normal lobsters. It’s caused by a genetic mutation that produces more of a particular protein,

And yes, Cheddar takes her name from Red Lobster’s famous Cheddar Bay Biscuits.

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