The Aquarium and Shark Lab in North Carolina provided an update on Charlotte’s health, stating that she had “developed a rare reproductive disease that has negatively impacted her reproductive system”.
When the aquarium announced in February that Charlotte was pregnant “between three and four pups” despite not seeing a male stingray in eight years, the news went viral throughout the world.
While watching Charlotte’s ultrasound on live streaming at the moment, Brenda Ramer, its executive director, remarked, “It’s a really strange and unique phenomenon.”
The team stated in the Friday social media update: “Many people are inquiring about the reproductive disease’s name, but it is simply found.
“We are actively searching [for] more information ourselves.”
They also mentioned that they had come across research on stingrays of a different type, but none on Charlotte’s species, or round rays.
On Saturday, the aquarium was closed while the staff “continued to care for Charlotte, and consult her medical team”.
Staff members at the aquarium thought Charlotte had cancer when she started to “swell” before learning she was pregnant.
But they soon found out she was pregnant.
Numerous perspectives regarding the pregnancy’s cause were exchanged among thousands of people. Some said that a male shark that lived in the aquarium had impregnated her. But experts rejected this.
