PORTLAND (AP) – Two cross-country trips were apparently just too much for a 30-year-old giant lobster named Hercules.

The 14-pound crustacean was found dead in his crate Friday at The Lobster Conservancy in Friendship, where he was undergoing rehabilitation in preparation for his release into the wild.

Schoolchildren in Port Angeles, Wash., rescued Hercules from a supermarket lobster tank, where he had a $200 price tag, and shipped him home to Maine.

But things didn’t work out as planned.

Diane Cowan, a scientist at The Lobster Conservancy, said it’s likely that Hercules succumbed to the trauma of long-distance travel, which is often fatal to lobsters.

He also had a tail injury that may have contributed to his death.

Cowan had planned to let the crack heal, then attach a sonar tag to the lobster and set him free within the next week or two so she could track his movements.

Cowan told friends in an e-mail Friday “don’t be too sad” because the lobster did not die in vain. Hercules called attention to legislation that would protect large, brood stock lobsters like himself, she said, and he educated people about their important role rejuvenating the lobster population.

A bill being considered by the Maine Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee would make it illegal to transport oversized lobsters like Hercules through Maine. Under Maine law, fishermen who catch such lobsters must toss them back.

Cowan views the legislation as a way to help protect hefty lobsters so they can live to breed.

Cowan also said Hercules probably would be her last attempt at crustacean salvation.

It’s not unusual for emancipated supermarket lobsters to be released in Maine by well-meaning Good Samaritans, but Cowan has always been skeptical of how the lobsters actually fare in their newfound freedom.

“It just came out of a cooler, it’s going to be in shock,” she said. “I said ‘This is a feel-good thing, but the thing’s going to die.’ “

AP-ES-02-21-04 1209EST

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