Crayfish Rips Off Claw To Escape Boiling Pot. Diner Films Shocking Moment

A crayfish's daring attempt to escape being boiled alive and becoming someone's dinner has caught the Internet's attention. First uploaded on Chinese social media platform Weibo, the clip went viral as the crustacean ripped off its own claw to avoid ending up in a boiling hotpot in a restaurant in China.

The 10-second clip begins with the crayfish perched on the edge of a hotpot, a traditional Chinese cooking technique that uses a simmering pot of stock. The crayfish's claw gets stuck as it tries to retreat away from the bubbling pot of soup. To evade imminent death, the crayfish detaches its own claw from its body. The meaty claw falls into the hotpot and the crayfish scurries off without it.

According to The Sun, the clip collected nearly a million views on Weibo with the courageous crustacean receiving messages of sympathy for sacrificing his left claw to survive.

Watch the crayfish's escape:
 

Advertisement

Responding to messages from concerned netizens, Weibo user "Jiuke" wrote that he later adopted the creature as a pet.

"I let him live, I already took him home and am raising him in an aquarium," he was quoted as saying by Taiwan News.

Advertisement

Animal welfare organisation PETA wrote in a blog post explaining that crustaceans and fish do feel pain.

But here's some good news, for those wondering how the crustacean will survive without its claw. Turns out, losing an arm is not life-threatening for crustaceans as they have the ability to regrow their claws, reported Time.