An aquarium in North Carolina is left stunned after their stingray became pregnant without any interactions from males of her species.
Charlotte—a round stingray estimated to be between 12 and 16 years old—is carrying as many as four pups despite being the only stingray living in her tank, according to the Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO in Hendersonville. The pregnancy was confirmed when specialists performed an ultrasound on Charlotte after noticing some swelling on her body.
“Our stingray, Charlotte, is expecting!” a Feb. 6 Facebook post from the aquarium read. “The really amazing thing is we have no male ray!”
Indeed, Charlotte is a single lady who has not had another male stingray in her tank for at least eight years, per the Associated Press. She does, however, have two bamboo sharks named Moe and Larry for tankmates.
So, could one of them be the dad? Don’t go running to Maury Povich just yet.
