When a lobster is taken out of the water, it can still breathe for a short period of time because it can absorb oxygen from the surrounding air through its gills, provided they remain moist. However, if a lobster is out of water for too long, its gills can dry out, preventing it from breathing properly.
If the lobster is placed back into the water before its gills dry out, it will not drown. Unlike fish, which extract oxygen from water flowing over their gills, lobsters can survive in water as long as their gills are functioning and wet enough to facilitate the absorption of oxygen from the water again.
However, if a lobster experiences prolonged exposure to air and becomes dehydrated, its gills may not function correctly once it is returned to the water. In this scenario, it won’t ‘drown’ in the traditional sense but would be compromised and could potentially die due to lack of oxygen, similar to how a fish would perish if it were unable to breathe properly in water.