Charlotte the Stingray (Died 2024)
Obituary
Charlotte, a round stingray, died at an Aquarium in North Carolina after a highly publicized alleged pregnancy.
Charlotte, a round stingray, died in 2024 at Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO, an aquarium in North Carolina. Charlotte made international news when she allegedly became pregnant without a mate through a process called parthenogenesis. Crowds flocked to the small aquarium, and Charlotte’s story was featured on Saturday Night Live. As Charlotte’s pregnancy continued longer than is typical for a stingray, experts became concerned and questioned whether Charlotte was receiving appropriate veterinary care. Eventually, the aquarium stated Charlotte had not been pregnant but was sick with a “rare reproductive disease” that ultimately killed her. The aquarium refused to provide veterinary records or other data to the media.
Stingrays are commonly used in “touch tanks,” tiny indoor pools where visitors, many of them children, can touch and manipulate the animals. Touch tanks are dangerous and stressful for animals, who can’t escape or hide. Guests, especially children, can easily hurt these delicate animals. Photos on the Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO’s social media show people touching animals and even swimming in their small tanks.
World Animal Protection urges everyone who loves sting rays to avoid aquariums and enjoy them in the wild or sanctuaries.
