NATIONAL (WDNews) – Charlotte the Stingray, who went viral for supposedly becoming pregnant despite having no male stingrays in her enclosure, has died.
An aquarium near Asheville, North Carolina drew national attention when they revealed in February that one of their resident stingrays had become pregnant despite not having any male stingrays in her enclosure.
“We are sad to announce, after continuing treatment with her medical care team and specialist, our ray Charlotte passed away today,” the Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO said on Facebook Sunday night. “We are continuing to work with her medical care team and research specialist.”
In February, the nation fell in love with Charlotte, who appeared to be the first single-mother stingray.
That’s when her aquarium, a nonprofit in the small town of Hendersonville in western North Carolina, said she had seemingly become pregnant through a rare but known biological process called parthenogenesis.
However, as months went by past the normal gestation period of 3 to 4 months, many become skeptical and concerned for Charlotte’s health.
Finally, in late May, the aquarium announced that Charlotte was not pregnant but was instead suffering from a disease.
After her death on Sunday, the aquarium was closed on Monday.
The aquarium says that it “appreciates your continued love and support while we navigate this great loss”.
