Charlotte the stingray still has not given birth. Was ‘miracle pregnancy’ a hoax?
Charlotte the stingray became an overnight sensation for her rare pregnancy, but some are beginning to wonder if the miracle of life is a hoax.
The stingray, whose home is at Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO in Hendersonville, about 100 miles west of Charlotte, made national headlines (and was spoofed on “Saturday Night Live”) after it was revealed that she became pregnant without the help of a male stingray.
Some speculated that Charlotte could have been impregnated by one of the five male sharks in her tank, but experts quickly dismissed that claim, saying it wouldn’t be possible due to their different sizes and DNA.
Scientists said Charlotte’s pregnancy must be the result of parthenogenesis, a rare method of asexual reproduction in which a female can produce an embryo without fertilizing an egg with sperm, the Associated Press reported.
Along with Charlotte’s popularity, the aquarium’s social media following grew exponentially after the pregnancy announcement, now with more than 1 million followers combined on Instagram and TikTok as many anxiously await the news on the stingray’s delivery.
And they’re still waiting.
On Feb. 12, the aquarium said Charlotte would deliver her pups within two weeks. But according to the latest Facebook update on Charlotte from the aquarium on May 17, the stingray was still pregnant.
“Charlotte continues to appear healthy and has shown little to no change in any of her behaviors or temperament,” the update reads. “There is no new information to share at this time. As more information comes available we will share it directly. We appreciate your support as we continue our care for Charlotte and strive to better understand this area of science.”
The aquarium did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Charlotte Observer.
An extended gestation period
Since the initial announcement of Charlotte’s pregnancy, updates from the aquarium haven’t revealed much of anything, aside from showing the stingray enjoying a swim or what she ate for lunch. While some began to grow impatient, comments on the social media posts were filled with well wishes and prayers for Charlotte.
But excitement quickly turned to worry as weeks passed, with some questioning if Charlotte’s pregnancy was legitimate.
“So what’s going on?” one Instagram user commented on the aquarium’s latest post featuring Charlotte in mid-April. “Was she really pregnant? Did she die?”
“So either authorities have stepped in or has something happened that doesn’t suit the narrative?” another asked.
Fans were also distressed when Charlotte had what appeared to be an ulcer on her back in her videos in April, The Assembly reported this week. Suspicions grew further when the aquarium changed the number of expected pups from four to one during her extended gestation period, according to a comment from their account on an Instagram post in April.
In a February Facebook post almost predicting the inevitable backlash, Brenda Ramer, the aquarium’s founder, issued a rebuke to fans who doubted the legitimacy of Charlotte’s pregnancy.
“Charlotte is a special and lovely fish, the post says. “We are sharing her experience with you as a way to learn together. It is our gift. Please, do not disqualify our event.
“Just because something has not happened or has not been documented does not make it impossible,” the post continues. “Science is discovery. And besides, none of us know what has happened in the big ocean because we are not always there.”
What do scientists think?
In a May 8 Facebook post, aquarium staff said they were working with “medical teams of qualified veterinarians” to conduct testing on Charlotte as they await her delivery. But experts are still skeptical about the information provided thus far.
“They keep changing the story, bringing in new possibilities. That is not the sign of a normal scientific veterinary process,” Larry Boles, the director of the aquarium science program at Oregon Coast Community College, told The Assembly. “That’s a sign of somebody who has an answer and keeps building new stories to support the answer they want to be true.”
Though there have been doubts, David Shiffman, a marine conservation biologist and public science communicator at Arizona State University, told The Assembly that pregnancies in stingrays and similar animals can be unpredictable.
“Sharks and rays have some of the most diverse and I’d go so far as to say, weird reproductive strategies of anything in the animal kingdom,” said Shiffman.
Boles also told The Assembly the stingrays can put a hold on their own gestation through a process called diapause if the conditions aren’t ideal, and that water temperature and stress could extend the length of their pregnancies.
Are Charlotte’s pup’s OK?
A more grim conclusion could be that Charlotte’s pups died during pregnancy, which often happens with offspring produced via parthenogenesis, Chris Lowe, a professor in marine biology and director of the Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach, told The Assembly.
Either way, Charlotte’s fans — and her naysayers — will be watching her closely to see what the future holds. And the wait isn’t over.
This story was originally published May 30, 2024 at 6:20 AM with the headline "Charlotte the stingray still has not given birth. Was ‘miracle pregnancy’ a hoax?."
