Waiting on Charlotte

How did she get pregnant?

Charlotte the stingray has been swimming in media coverage ever since her pregnancy was announced. Why all the buzz around an expecting stingray at a North Carolina aquarium?

She hasn’t had contact with a male of her species in over eight years.

Rumors swirled that Charlotte had been impregnated by one of the male sharks living in her tank. Others joked that her pups were immaculately conceived through the grace of a higher power.

Experts say the pregnancy is through parthenogenesis, a rare type of reproduction in which offspring develop from unfertilized eggs, meaning there is no genetic contribution by a male.

Charlotte’s pregnancy has all the hallmarks of a story that’s made to stick.

It’s simple, unexpected and emotional. It inspires the imagination — who can’t help but wonder what a stingray/shark would look like? It’s dramatic and mysterious, allowing everyone to come up with their own theories.

Team ECCO, the nonprofit running the aquarium Charlotte calls home, rode the wave of publicity. Lines to see Charlotte stretched around the block. Views on social media went from tens of thousands into the millions.

When the story broke, reports said the birth could happen at any time. Now, a month later, Charlotte is still pregnant.

While the internet has somewhat moved on to other stories and conspiracies (looking at you, Royal Family), there’s still a lot of attention on the small local aquarium and its star stingray.

Team ECCO took some smart steps to streamline its time in the spotlight. An important one: It recently announced that updates on Charlotte would be shared on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

It’s a small tweak, but it’s effective. It gives the social team time to prepare. It gives audiences a clear timeline. It builds excitement for those posts.

And it gives them the flexibility to break that cadence whenever Charlotte’s pups do arrive.