A rare, multi-colored lobster, is back in the ocean after a restaurant set it free.

Scales Restaurant in Portland received what they call a "cotton candy" colored lobster this week. The light pink and blue colored crustacean is a one-in-100 million rarity according to the restaurant's post on social media. They also add that the lobster was returned to its home by one of their chefs.

According to the Lobster Institute at The University of Maine, these are the estimated odds of a particular colored lobster:

  • Blue - one-in-two million
  • Bright red (before cooked) - one-in ten million
  • Yellow - one-in-30 million
  • Calico (orange and black shells) - one-in-30 million
  • Split-colored (half orange, half black) - one-in-50 million
  • Albino or "crystal" - one-in-100 million

Oceanographers say lobsters with unique coloration have a genetic mutation that causes excessive amounts of a particular protein, which causes the nontraditional color.

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