The long life and slow death of a large lobster named Lanny
Crustacean became a media star in the spring of 1991
Few sea creatures would live a life like Lanny the Lobster did.
The three-foot, 22-pound crustacean lived for decades in the Atlantic Ocean, before being scooped up into the clutches of an ocean dragger.
Like many lobsters, Lanny was then shipped west, destined to be served up as someone's dinner.
But then the ocean-dweller's unique qualities were noticed, its story got out and a decision was made to send it back to the sea.
Sadly, Lanny wouldn't live on. But the story did, courtesy of the extensive media treatment it received in the spring of 1991.
The lobster had been awaiting its fate in Caudle's Catch, a seafood business in Kitchener, Ont.
Seafood wholesaler Mike Caudle had named it after hockey star Lanny McDonald, having noted an apparent resemblance between the retired Calgary Flames captain and the crustacean.
Named for NHL star
"The length of his antennae, it reminded me of Lanny McDonald's moustache," he told CBC's 1st Edition on April 11 of that year.
Caudle said Lanny had been purchased from a seafood dealer in Toronto and had been in the Kitchener business for about two weeks.
"We brought him back to have him in the store here for some of the customers to see. The school kids and stuff like coming to see something of this size."
Caudle said a local newspaper wrote that Lanny was available for sale.
"We decided before that story broke, we decided we were going to return him to the water," said Caudle.
Why the reprieve?
Because Lanny had lived for so long, Caudle said it was felt the lobster deserved the chance to live out its days at sea.
The plan was to return Lanny to Nova Scotia and to record the moment with an underwater camera.
To 'celebrate or mourn'?
Lanny's return home received continued media attention — including a report on The National on April 19 — though things weren't looking good for the lobster at that point.
By then, no one knew "whether to celebrate or mourn for an old, giant of a crustacean named Lanny," anchor Knowlton Nash told viewers.
"The lobster, who could be anywhere from 50 to 100 years old, was returned to the sea today, after being saved from the steamer by a sympathetic fish dealer."
That part of the story sounded good. But Lanny wasn't doing so well after the long journey home.
"He's very weak, he's gone through quite a bit," said Caudle, who was worried about Lanny's chance of survival.
When put in the water, three kilometres from shore, the lobster's condition wasn't encouraging.
"Freed, 30 metres down in the Atlantic, Lanny doesn't move," the CBC's Brian DuBreuil reported on The National.
On April 20, CBC Nova Scotia reported that Lanny had died.
