In February, a Hendersonville aquarium announced that Charlotte, a female stingray who has not shared a tank with any male stingrays, is pregnant. She is due to give birth any day now.
Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO — which has housed Charlotte since 2016 — shared an ultrasound on social media revealing the pregnancy, which has garnered significant attention speculating the cause of the stingray’s pregnancy.
Brenda Ramer, the owner of the aquarium, said in a video that Charlotte could be providing her own eggs through a process called parthenogenesis — a rare form of asexual reproduction. She also said aquarium staff put two young male sharks in the same tank as Charlotte at the end of July. When staff began to notice bite marks on Charlotte, Ramer said they wondered if a male shark may have mated with the female stingray, as bite marks are a common mating marker for sharks.
The pregnancy announcement led many visitors to the aquarium in Hendersonville to see the stingray. Businesses located on Main Street, where Team ECCO is based, are reaping the benefits of Charlotte's popularity.
Alicia Harbison, owner of The Charleston Inn — a bed and breakfast a block away from the aquarium — said traffic has picked up for them since Charlotte has made national news during their usually quiet season.
“We've had a lady that came in from Tennessee that just especially came in for that, traveled about two hours outside of that," Harbison said. “So it's picked up for this time of year for us.”
Harbison also said she has personal ties with the aquarium. Her eighth grade daughter has volunteered with Team ECCO for the last 3.5 years on Saturdays.
Oliver Wall, general manager of Mast General Store, another business on Main Street, said there are often lines on the sidewalk stretching around the block, especially on weekends, because of Charlotte's pregnancy. Wall said there is a lot of buzz in the store among staff and customers.
“All of our town is very excited about Charlotte, and it's brought a lot of business through our Main Street and all of our vendors," Mark Pavoa, owner of Black Bear Coffee Co. on Main Street, said. “Hendersonville is a great town. We really believe that if one of us does well, we all do well and it really shows with the explosion of Charlotte and her baby stingrays.”
