Woman Buys 23-Pound Lobster Named 'King Louie' to Set Him Free

The woman paid more than $200 to give the lobster a second chance at life.

By
JULIA JACOBO
November 30, 2016, 5:43 PM ET
5 min read

— -- Love live King Louie, the 23-pound lobster who has been given a second chance at life after a woman set out to free him.

A Canadian woman bought the giant lobster, estimated to be 100 years old, to spare him from the dinner table, Canadian news channel CTV reported.

King Louie was caught in the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick by Rodney MacDonald, whose family runs the Alma Lobster Shop. After local media got wind of the enormous crustacean, the shop received several suggestions on what to do with King Louie.

Katie Conklin, a vegan who lives in Nova Scotia, paid about $230 to the MacDonalds to ensure King Louie's return to his open-water kingdom.

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Although the MacDonald family makes a living selling lobster, Rodney's wife, Brittney MacDonald, said they were "fine" with returning King Louie to the bay.

With the gargantuan lobster secured in his crate, Rodney MacDonald went against his fisherman instincts and drove his boat out to the middle of the bay to return the lobster to its home. He is seen on video saying "Thank you" to Conklin, who was almost 230 miles away in Nova Scotia, before placing King Louie in the water, which was followed by a small splash.

"I just hope he carries his genes and lives a happy life for his second chance," Conklin said.

Rodney MacDonald said he buys more than a million pounds of lobster per year, and King Louie was the biggest and first lobster he's ever released.