Extremely rare orange lobster caught in Maine's Casco Bay has new home

An extremely rare, bright orange American lobster caught earlier this month in Maine's Casco Bay by a lobstering crew has found a home at the University of New England's marine science center.

The chances of catching an orange lobster is one-in-30 million, according to Charles Tilburg, a UNE professor of marine science who said he bases that estimate on the total annual lobster landings and anecdotal reports of orange lobsters.

The lobster was the first catch of the day on June 2 for the crew of the Deborah & Megan, a fishing vessel captained by Gregg Turner, Tilburg told CNN.

The bright orange lobster came up alone in the trap of crew member Mandy Cyr, Tilburg said.

"I knew right away I was going to contact UNE," Cyr told CNN. "They took our last lobster 'Sprinkles,' a calico lobster, another one-in-30 million lobster that we caught this past winter."

Turner has been lobstering since he was a young boy and has only seen two orange lobsters in his life, according to Cyr, a lobsterwoman who has worked intermittently aboard Turner's vessel for five years.

After the lobster spent a brief overnight at Turner's Lobsters in Scarborough, Maine, Cyr contacted Lindsay Forrette, the lab coordinator for UNE's Arthur P. Girard Marine Science Center. She is known throughout the fishing communities and is often contacted about interesting catches, said Tilburg, director of the marine science center.