The stingray that went viral after miraculously becoming pregnant at a North Carolina aquarium despite not having shared a tank with a male companion has died.
Charlotte the stingray died on Sunday after contracting a rare reproductive disease, the Aquarium and Shark Lab in Hendersonville said on Facebook.
“We are sad to announce, after continuing treatment with her medical care team and specialist, our ray Charlotte passed away today,” the aquarium wrote, while also thanking followers for their “love and support.”
The aquarium did not specify what kind of reproductive disease Charlotte was diagnosed with.
In February the aquarium announced Charlotte’s shocking pregnancy, noting how she had not shared a tank with a male counterpart in the last eight years.
The sea creature was thought to have become pregnant through a type of asexual reproduction called parthenogenesis, in which the eggs develop on their own without fertilization and create a clone of the mother.
The stingray quickly went viral, making headlines and even becoming late-night talk show fodder for Jimmy Kimmel and “Saturday Night Live.”
News of Charlotte’s illness was shared in May. At the time, the aquarium said it was looking to learn more about the disease.
“There have been studies done on southern rays, but we have not found any yet done on round rays,” it wrote.
Then in early June, the aquarium announced that Charlotte was no longer pregnant. The facility temporarily closed on June 1 as a result.
The aquarium also shuttered on Monday and Tuesday following Charlotte’s death.
With Post wires
