Leon the lobster has become a viral sensation on YouTube. Source: Tanya Terekhina via freepik
The man who brought home a lobster from his local supermarket to raise as a pet has since become a viral sensation on YouTube.
Brady Brandwood, who had an empty tank at home, decided to pick up a lobster while doing some grocery shopping in late 2021.
Brady is a video producer from the United States and documented the journey on his YouTube channel.
In a video that has now gained over 24 million views, Brady said he wasn’t sure if he was rescuing the lobster or “more just curious about what they’re like and how they act day to day”.
It became clear that the lobster, who he named Leon, had damage to its claws after they were kept bound with rubber bands.
Brady said, “[Leon’s] movement wasn’t very good — his claws would not open and close, and it took a while for him to get those working again.”
It took Leon three months to fully recover.
“He’s doing great… His claw strength is back to 100 per cent and he has great dexterity in all of his arms.”
Since then, Leon has brightened in colour, grown significantly, and moulted twice — the necessary process of shedding the outer shell to replace it with a new one.
Lobsters are “not cheap” pets to keep with very particular diets, but Brady has no regrets.
“Leon has just become a character these days, and I’ve been really interested and impressed at the number of people around the world that enjoy his story.”
Brady has accumulated over 654,000 subscribers with millions of views on his videos of Leon.
Viewers have described the story as “precious” and “heartwarming”.
