Stingray that appeared pregnant without male dies

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. — Charlotte the stingray has died.

The stingray had been in the worldwide spotlight after she appeared to have become pregnant in February without having a male in the tank at a North Carolina aquarium, WSOC reported.

She did, however, live with two “very young male sharks,” BBC News reported.

Weeks later, Charlotte’s owner told WLOS that the stingray was in fact no longer pregnant, posting on Facebook that the stingray had developed a disease that impacted her reproductive system.

The Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO in Hendersonville announced that it was closing to the public temporarily on June 1, The Associated Press reported.

Some believed that the claim of asexual reproduction was a hoax, but her owner said it wasn’t.

“I can only tell you what we know for certain. I’ve never been a liar. This was not a scam. This was not anything made up, but people do that. People have their own thoughts,” aquarium owner Brenda Ramer told WLOS in May.

This type of asexual reproduction is called parthenogenesis where babies develop from unfertilized eggs. It is rare but can happen in some insects, fish, amphibians, birds and reptiles. There have been documented cases with California condors, Komodo dragons and yellow-bellied water snakes, the AP reported.

Marine experts last month said they were worried about Charlotte’s health because she looked ill, WSOC reported

The Aquarium & Shark Lab posted on social media on Sunday that she had died earlier that day and that the business would remain closed as the staff cares for its other animals.

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