Charlotte, a stingray who became famous earlier this year after the mysterious discovery that she was pregnantdied weeks after tests showed she was suffering from a rare reproductive diseaseaccording to an aquarium in North Carolina.
Team ECCO’s Aquarium & Shark Lab reported in February that Charlotte was carrying three or four pups, despite being in a tank with no male stingrays. She was in the tank with two “very young male sharks” and some believed she was pregnant by one of the sharks. Charlotte had several bite marks on her, and sharks bite when they mate.
Aquarium and Shark Lab by Team ECCO via AP
Experts later said she was likely to become pregnant by parthenogenesisalso known as asexual reproduction. The rare phenomenon can also occur in sharkslizards and snakes.
Charlotte’s pregnancy was national news and was even broadcast on Saturday Night Live.
The aquarium thought Charlotte would give birth in late February, but she never had any pups. In late May, it was announced that she had an unnamed illness that “had negatively impacted her reproductive system.”
“The findings are truly a sad and unexpected medical development,” her care team said at the time.
Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images
On June 5, the aquarium confirmed that Charlotte was no longer pregnant due to her reproductive disease. Although she was sick, she was in stable condition and showed no decrease in appetite or activity.
“Charlotte is still living her normal routine and is happy,” the aquarium said in a social media post.
The North Carolina aquarium was temporarily closed on Monday following Charlotte’s death on Sunday.
“We continue to work with her medical care team and research specialist,” the aquarium said in a social media post. “The Team ECCO family appreciates your continued love and support as we process this great loss.”
