Charlotte the stingray is not pregnant, owner confirms

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. — Charlotte, a stingray in a western North Carolina aquarium, is not pregnant, ABC affiliate WLOS confirmed with the owner of the Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO.

The story out of downtown Hendersonville caught global attention as anticipation grew for babies from a stingray that mysteriously became pregnant.

The story began in February when the aquarium, using ultrasound images, reported that Charlotte became pregnant on her own because there wasn’t a male stingray around.

Charlotte developed a rare reproductive disease that has negatively impacted her reproductive system, the aquarium posted on Facebook Thursday.

The lab and testing findings “are truly a sad and unexpected medical development.”

Research on the disease is limited, the aquarium stated.

“Many are asking the name of the reproductive disease, but it is simply found under that text reproductive disease,” another Facebook post stated. “We are actively searching (for) more information ourselves. There have been studies done on southern rays, but we have not found any yet done on round rays.”

‘This was not a scam’

Owner Brenda Ramer said that she is aware people are calling it a scam.

“I can’t control what people think,” Ramer told WLOS.

Ramer said she’s an educator and her focus has been on her nonprofit aquarium.

“I can only tell you what we know for certain,” she said. “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.”

Ramer explained that in a typical pregnancy, a stingray is pregnant for three to four months. Charlotte was reported to have experienced what’s known as a parthenogenesis pregnancy.

Ramer told WLOS she is working to get information to help people understand what could have happened that ended Charlotte’s pregnancy.

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