It’s giving April the giraffe vibes.
As social media users patiently, or maybe more like impatiently, wait for Charlotte the stingray to give birth, everyone still wonders who’s the daddy! Could it be one of the sharks in the tank, or did Charlotte get pregnant by a process called parthenogenesis, where the eggs develop on their own without fertilization and create a clone of the mother.
Somebody get Maury Povich on standby!
Everyone’s Anxiously Waiting For Charlotte To Have Her Pups!
We’re all waiting. Patiently, impatiently, anxiously, you name it! The world wants to see Charlotte‘s pups and wonder if they’ll be “shark rays.”
Team ECCO has been keeping all of Charlotte’s fans in-the-know about the situation and recently shared a new update on Wednesday.
“Her behavior nor her eating habits have changed. Her favorite thing to eat today was raw shrimp,” the update shared on both Instagram and TikTok began. “Some of you have had some questions in a previous Charlotte update as to why garlic is used in her food. Aquarium Liquid Garlic is a supplement that aids in fish appetite and their immune system.”
The update went on to explain that she’s been eating well and thanked GoPro for the camera to film Charlotte and her tank mates.
Many of Charlotte’s fans weren’t satisfied with the update saying they need more.
“So many questions…. When was her last ultrasound? Are the pups measuring larger than sting rays pups from a traditional but monitored Sting Ray pregnancy? Is she at risk? 😫 I need more than. Hey guys, Look it’s Charlotte,” one person shared. Another added, “Give this woman a sea-section! We’re all waiting!” And another asked, “Are Larry and Mo the potential fathers?”
In this update video as well as an earlier one, many people want to see another ultrasound because they are beginning to lose hope that she’s actually going to have any babies. (That could just be a little impatience creeping in because of pure excitement over the pups’ arrival.)
Another recent update explained why they aren’t sure of a timeframe for Charlotte’s pups to arrive.
“As we all await the delivery of pup(s), I think one of the hardest things to focus on is that this is not a typical ray pregnancy,” the caption reads. “We can find no precedent or data that gives a specific gestation time frame. Charlotte is showing no unusual behaviors or changes in eating patterns. Patience is the game right now.”
With Charlotte getting closer and closer to the big day, it seems the aquarium is taking measures to make sure everyone’s ready and she’s comfortable. A message on the aquarium’s website reads, “In consideration of Charlotte, the Aquarium is temporarily suspending pre-paid admissions.”
Charlotte’s Pregnancy Is A Case Of Who’s Your Daddy?
No one is quite sure how Charlotte became pregnant. It’s a huge mystery at the moment because she hasn’t been in a tank with a male stingray in many years.
It’s possible that one of two rare situations has happened. One possibility is that she oddly mated with one of the young sharks in her tank, and the other is through a process called parthenogenesis, where the eggs develop on their own without fertilization and create a clone of the mother.
“It’s a once in a bluest of blue moons experience,” aquarium’s founder and executive director, Brenda Ramer said about parthenogenesis with a stingray, according to ABC News 13. “We’re either going to have partho babies, or we’re going to have some kind of potential mixed breed, and we’re waiting for Jeff Goldblum to show up because we are ‘Jurassic Park’ right now!”
An ultrasound a few months back showed that there could be one to four pups. If Charlotte did get pregnant asexually through parthenogenesis, this will be the first-time a round stingray has done that. So, Charlotte is making history one way or another.
And this is part of the huge appeal for social media users. They are all anxiously waiting to see Charlotte’s father-less pups or see if there’s a new “shark ray” species. (But it appears that the experts have decided that it’s an asexual pregnancy, so don’t bet too much on shark rays.)
The situation has even caught the attention of “Saturday Night Live” who recently did a skit about Charlotte and her mystery pregnancy. She’s got fans pulling for her everywhere!
