The 110-Year-Old Lobster Rescued from a Restaurant by Animal Rights Activists Just Died

Fans of The Simpsons will recall a particularly memorable episode in which Homer strikes up an unlikely friendship with a lobster. After buying the crustacean with the intention of fattening him up to eat, Homer becomes too attached. He declares "Pinchy" part of the family and only ends up eating his new friend after an unfortunate incident involving a hot bath.

Of course, this is a ridiculous storyline from the nether reaches of Matt Groening's mind. That kind of stuff doesn't happen in real life.

No, in real life, the lobster gets saved.

Yes, in Florida (where else?) last week, life imitated cartoons when a lobster named Larry was saved from the pot by a group of impassioned animal rights activists.

It all started when Joseph Melluso, owner of seafood restaurant Tin Fish on Florida's Sunset Strip, was given a 15-pound lobster by a seafood supplier.

Speaking to ABC News, Melluso said: "This lobster came in at a whopping 14.98 pounds. Jumbo lobsters we get are usually between three and five pounds, so this was over three times the size of a regular jump lobster."

Given its size, Melluso estimated that the lobster—christened "Larry"—was 110-years-old. A lobster researcher from Maine later told local news that this "might be a bit of an exaggeration," although did say that Larry was probably "quite old."

Proud of the monster catch, Melluso displayed Larry in his restaurant's fish tank, soon attracting the attention of a diner who asked to reserve him for a family dinner there last Tuesday night.

However before Larry could be cooked, several animal rights activists called Melluso, pleading with him to save the lobster and let them reimburse the diner for his planned feast.

Melluso added: "They really opened up my eyes and it got me a little emotional. We went ahead and donated the lobster to them."

Thank God almighty, Larry was free at last!

The activists organised for the lobster to be packed into a special container with salt water and frozen gel packs to keep him cool, and shipped to the Maine State Aquarium for "a better life."

But the saga of Larry the lobster doesn't end there. This morning, reports emerged that the elderly lobster had died during his journey to the Maine promised land. According to the Portland Press Herald, he was found dead by aquarium staff yesterday.

Speaking to the newspaper, Melluso said: "It's very disappointing. It definitely makes for an ugly story for something that had a lot of good energy and good intention behind it."

Maybe it just isn't worth considering the lobster, after all.