Crab Goes Viral for Surprising Behavior — She Eats Caviar, Wears Hats and Uses Sign Language (Exclusive)

At 8 years old, social media sensation Howie the crab is several years older than her species' life expectancy

• Laura Porter's pet crab, Howie, has reached millions of fans and followers with her viral posts across social media platforms

• On Instagram and TikTok, Porter posts photos and videos of Howie communicating through sign language, wearing hats, eating human food and going on neighborhood walks outside

• The online sensation-crustacean has surpassed the life expectancy for her species, and her fans are nervously hoping to see Howie make it to her 9th birthday this June

Most crabs only encounter caviar when served together on a seafood platter, but one lucky crustacean in Nebraska snacks on the upscale delicacy as a favored treat.

Howie the Crab lives a charmed life between the walls of her semi-aquatic tank in Omaha. Caviar is just one of the surprising foods she consumes courtesy of her owner, Laura Porter.

Howie’s also fond of cheese and various vegetables, both of which she often enjoys while wearing one of the many hats or crowns in her vast wardrobe of shell-top accessories.

After indulging at mealtime and dressing up in the likes of a bedazzled cowboy hat, the blue-tinted terrestrial crab might be tied onto her leash and join Porter for a sunny walk around their neighborhood.

At some point during her leisurely day, Howie will almost certainly create new content for her social media pages, where she’s reached millions of fans and followers across platforms.

The crab has stolen hearts online with her surprisingly intelligent behavior. Beyond her chic taste in knitted beanies and refined culinary palette, Howie plays with toys and fearlessly fraternizes with Porter’s pet cat.

The shellbound internet personality has even attracted some celebrity attention too. America’s Got Talent judge Howie Mandel posted a duetted TikTok video shouting out the creature who shares his name.

“What an honor to have a crab named after you,” Mandel said in the clip from March 2023.

Porter’s unlikely pet first went viral on TikTok in February 2022, when she shared a video cleaning Howie by scrubbing her shell with a toothbrush. In overlaying text, the crab’s owner shared a bit more about Howie, her hygiene routine and how she “eats what we eat” — meaning “people food,” like fruits and vegetables (and, of course, the occasional spoonful of caviar).

Though the clip garnered over 797,000 likes, Porter tells PEOPLE that she received a noteworthy amount of negative attention as well.

“I felt like I had to justify why I was being kind to her because no one understood that she is a sentient pet,” says Porter, who mainly posted videos of her pet squirrels before Howie’s TikTok debut.

Somewhere in the haze of criticism, Porter and Howie found their target audience — “My tribe of animal lovers, not just the furry kind,” the former banking professional explains. “The people that love all animals were supportive and wanted to learn more about Howie.”

Indeed there’s plenty to know about Howie, who is of the Cardisoma Armatum species more commonly known as the rainbow crab. Remarkably, she can communicate her hunger using sign language, a skill she picked up by watching Porter during feeding time, says the crab’s owner.

“I would always give her food and tap my mouth. Years went by, and one day I started noticing that she would beg against the tank glass and tap her mouth,” Porter recalls to PEOPLE. “Even I was skeptical at first. I thought it was a coincidence, or that I was seeing what I wanted to believe.”

Porter also claims that her clawed confidante can recognize human faces, especially that of her dedicated caretaker. “She has always been able to distinguish me from other people and family members,” Porter says.

Howie and Porter have an especially close bond — she says the crab has only pinched her once, by accident — but it was Porter’s daughter who originally wanted to adopt Howie back in 2016. Still, Porter took on the role of their pet’s primary caretaker, in part because she worried Howie may pinch others and because she wanted to fully meet the crustacean's needs.

“I am not a believer in allowing kids to be caregivers for pets,” Porter tells PEOPLE. “Animals deserve responsible care. So even though Howie lived in my daughter's bedroom for many years, I have always been Howie's favorite person.”

Porter adds that while she had some experience keeping other types of crustaceans, looking after Howie required some guesswork at first.

“We combined previous knowledge and also learned along the way,” she explains. “There was not a lot of species-specific care information online when we got her.”

At 8 years old, Howie the crab has surpassed her species’ typical life expectancy. Per the FAQ section on Howie’s website, most rainbow crabs only live two to three years in the wild and three to five years in captivity.

Like lobsters, shrimp and other crustaceans, crabs grow by shedding their exoskeleton shells in a process called molting. As they get older, molts become increasingly difficult and painful for the creature, and Porter worries her beloved Howie may not make it through her next, which she predicts will happen this month.

While she waits for Howie to shed, she’s been keeping the crab’s fans updated with transparent posts about her activity levels and food intake, which continues to dwindle as Howie prepares to molt.

“Having an aging pet on social media is a difficult situation to navigate. There are a lot of people emotionally invested in Howie's story and well being,” Porter says. “While I don't want every post to be a reminder of just how old she is, I feel like it's important to make her fans aware of her limited time with us.”

Though Howie faces challenging days ahead, her owner is staying optimistic and keeping the crab comfortable.

“I try to live in the moment and enjoy the time I have left with her, however long that may be,” Porter tells PEOPLE, adding, “I do want to stay hopeful that she will make it through another molt.”

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