“Lobsters,” Wallace reports, “… are known to exhibit preferences. Experiments have shown that they can detect changes of only a degree or two in water temperature; one reason for their complex migratory cycles (which can often cover 100-plus miles a year) is to pursue the temperatures they like best. And, as mentioned, they’re bottom-dwellers and do not like bright light: If a tank of food lobsters is out in the sunlight or a store’s fluorescence, the lobsters will always congregate in whatever part is darkest. Fairly solitary in the ocean, they also clearly dislike the crowding that’s part of their captivity in tanks, since (as also mentioned) one reason why lobsters’ claws are banded on capture is to keep them from attacking one another under the stress of close-quarter storage.” Watching the lobsters outside of the World’s Largest Lobster Cooker, Wallace asserts that “it is difficult not to sense that they’re unhappy, or frightened.”

Lobsters are similar to other animals in many ways. Wallace mentions that some “lobsters can live to be over 100 … though truly senior lobsters are rare now, because New England’s waters are so heavily trapped.” Bonded lobsters share a shelter during mating season, and a female lobster carries her young for a nine- to 12-month gestation period. These crustaceans communicate with each other to establish social relationships, and they can travel 100 miles or more during their seasonal migrations. Lobsters are now recognized as sensitive animals who are capable of feeling intense pain. You can find more little-known facts about lobsters here.

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