In September 2023, The Aquarium and Shark Lab in Hendersonville, North Carolina, shared with the public that one of their stingrays, Charlotte, was pregnant. They first falsely claimed that this immaculate conception was a result of Charlotte being impregnated by a shark even though multiple marine biologists informed them this is not possible. The aquarium then claimed Charlotte was experiencing parthenogenesis, a form of asexual reproduction not known to be possible in Charlotte’s species. Even before informing the public, the aquarium was advised to keep this news in the scientific community in case any negative results came from it. 

As the months went on and no stingray pups were born, Team ECCO posted on their various social media accounts that this was because it was unknown how long a stingray pregnancy via parthenogenesis would take. There is no evidence a parthenogenetic pregnancy should vary in length from a standard pregnancy. This claim is directly refuted by other parthenogenetic pregnancies, such as the recent parthenogenetic pregnancy of an Epaulette shark at Brookfield Zoo. Comments on these posts noted how Charlotte’s condition seemed to be declining and these comments were either ignored or deleted by Team ECCO. Marine biologists and veterinarians also left comments and sent messages directly to Team ECCO saying they wanted to personally examine Charlotte, but they too were ignored, deleted, and/or even blocked. 

To calm these comments, Team ECCO posted videos of their staff performing an ultrasound on Charlotte, but many noted that what should be seen, pups, wasn’t seen at all. The ultrasound was performed by staff members who appeared to not fully understand what they were doing rather than being performed by a registered veterinarian. The aquarium claimed that pups weren’t seen since stingrays are cartilaginous and, therefore would be hard to find on an ultrasound. This is blatantly false as other research facilities have performed successful ultrasounds on stingrays that were pregnant.

After many posts of lackluster updates saying Charlotte is eating well and acting like her usual self, Team ECCO stopped posting after April 27, 2024. This caused an influx of comments inquiring about the welfare of Charlotte and why there had been a lack of updates. These inquiries were ignored, leading many to go to the aquarium themselves to post their own updates. Many guests noted that the aquarium limited photography and videography of Charlotte, something the public deemed suspicious.

On May 30, 2024, Team ECCO posted on their Facebook account that Charlotte had “developed a rare reproductive disease that has negatively impacted her reproductive system.” This led the public to concur that the parthenogenic pregnancy was false and her condition was the result of this disease, something many lead marine biologists and veterinarians had been stating. When the aquarium made this announcement, they also stated that their “priority is to focus on Charlotte’s health and wellbeing” and that they “will work with, and be guided by, veterinarians and specialists to better understand this disease and the treatment options for Charlotte,” something that should have been an initial priority when a high-risk pregnancy via parthenogenesis was first noted.

Team ECCO posted the next day that they were unsure of the specific reproductive disease Charlotte was suffering from and were “actively searching for more information.” On June 5, the aquarium confirmed that Charlotte was no longer pregnant due to her reproductive disease, and the establishment remained closed for a short amount of time. 

On June 30, 2024, Team ECCO posted on their Facebook account that Charlotte had passed away. Because of the initial focus on a potential pathogenic pregnancy, valuable time in treating her reproductive disease was lost, something that resulted in the death of Charlotte due to delayed treatment.

Along with this tragedy, there have been accounts from previous staff members and volunteers alleging the improper care of other animals at this location, resulting in the death of multiple animals. They have also alleged multiple instances of mistreatment of staff and volunteers, including minors. 

As a result of the death of Charlotte, as well as allegations of improper care resulting in loss of life for other resident animals, The Aquarium and Shark Lab needs to be permanently shut down. Their animals need to be surrendered to other aquariums that can ensure proper care to promote their well-being.