Joshua Nair
The sea creature that continually makes headlines for its unique, almost unbelievable situation, has had a health update issued.
Charlotte the Stingray is back in the news yet again following her latest health update, after becoming pregnant without any mates.
The sea creature is based in The Aquarium and Shark Lab run by Team Ecco in North Carolina, USA and shocked the animal world when the pregnancy revelation was revealed in February 2024.
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But it looks like the stingray is undergoing some changes throughout her pregnancy, as you can see here:
After spotting a growth, the experts at Team Ecco thought that Charlotte had developed cancer, though following an ultrasound, they found that the 'growths' were actually eggs.
The aquarium had no male stingrays, so the theory of a male shark that she had shared her tank with making her pregnant was floated into question.
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But once that was found to be untrue, the only way that scientists could explain the pregnancy was the parthenogenesis phenomenon.
This is a form of asexual reproduction, where the female can produce an embryo despite the absence of sperm fertilising her eggs, and Charlotte managed this rare occurrence four times.
The highly unlikely and rare phenomena makes the story incredibly fascinating to members of the public, as Charlotte is expected to give birth to her pups 'any day' now.
However, the stingray is undergoing some changes on her body throughout her pregnancy, which have been revealed and explained in videos on Facebook and Instagram by Team Ecco.
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The 'Virgin Mary' stingray is currently re-growing her tail barb, having dropped it recently.
Team Ecco explained that this occurrence is perfectly natural for stingrays, showing that she is in good health, despite the concern that her pregnancy is taking longer that it should.
Experts are still unsure about details around her pregnancy, such as when it started exactly, and when her due date is set for - but the latest news is a good sign that her body is still carrying out healthy habits during a peculiar time.
The narrator on the social media video explained: "Charlotte has lived with us for eight years. During this period, she has dropped her barb several times,
"Each time, she has regrown a new one. The latest barb drop was February 28th, 2024.
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"Charlotte is currently in the process of regrowing a new barb, which we see as a sign of health and thriving in her environment," she concluded.
The update seemed to be a message of assurance to the public, but it seems like it has done little to stop any scepticism around the situation, with no answers on her pregnancy, including the health of her pups.
As the first ever documented case of parthenogenesis in captivity, observers are keen to find out what happens with Charlotte and her newborns - when they do come.
Stingrays are usually pregnant for three to four months before giving birth, but as there is no real timeline set for the mum-to-be, the team are on their toes.
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The longer than usual length of time that the stingray has been pregnant has worries several social media users, who have left their thoughts in the comments of the Instagram update post.
One commented: "I have been following since December and they are pregnant for three months. She’s maybe not pregnant but got a tumour cause this isn’t making sense."
Another questioned: "Have they done any recent ultrasound to check that the babies are still growing and healthy."
A third joked: "When is the sea-section?"
According to the team though, she is perfectly healthy, as the video narrator revealed: "Charlotte's behaviour, resting, and eating patterns have not changed since our last update."