Officials at the New York Aquarium said they have acquired a gargantuan 18-pound lobster from a seafood company worker who decided not to cook the crustacean.

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Aquarium Director Jon Dohlin said the lobster, which is estimated to be 75 years old, went on display this week and has proven a hit with visitors, the New York Daily News reported Thursday.

"He radiates a certain charisma," Dohlin said, "a crustacean charisma."

Jennifer Vargas, a bookkeeper for the New England Lobster Co. in San Francisco, said rescuing the lobster seemed like the right thing to do after it was caught off the coast of Canada a few weeks ago.

"This seemed like a (lousy) way to go," Vargas said. "A lot of the customers were interested in him -- the problem was they didn't have a pot big enough."