A Hendersonville, North Carolina stingray may have been impregnated by a shark. The aquarium staff is stunned the ray has become pregnant. Here’s the weird part, her only tankmates are sharks. The Aquarium and Shark Lab is located in downtown Hendersonville. The team there initially thought Charlotte the stingray might have cancer when they started to notice swelling in September. But a new theory popped up! Maybe she's pregnant! That theory turned out to be true. There are two options for how this happened: that she’s got four clones she’s growing which is really rare or that one of the sharks did the deed. Both options are beyond bizarre. With the clones option. the eggs would have to develop on their own without fertilization and create a clone of the mother. Woah!
The other possibility is the female stingray was impregnated by one of the male one-year-old sharks they placed in her tank in July.
"In mid-July 2023, we moved two 1-year-old white spot bamboo males (sharks) into that tank. There was nothing we could find definitively about their maturation rate, so we did not think there would be an issue," a staffer said. "We started to notice bite marks on Charlotte, but saw other fish nipping at her, so we moved fish, but the biting continued."
Bite marks are an indicator of mating in sharks.
Because, well their sharks and that's how they do haha. Apparently large fishes are know to bite during the mating process. Charlotte had several bites on her fin edges Fox News reported.
These crazy North Carolina stingray man I tell ya you never know what they'll do! Haha.
The update is there's no pups yet, and experts say rays can't mate with sharks! Standing by!
North & South Carolina Named Most Shark Filled Waters in the World
Yikes! I know Shark Week is over, but this story got my attention quickly. Every year, around shark week and during the busy summer months, reports come out about sharks. Whether it's what to do if you see a shark, reports of shark attacks, and where the sharks most likely are. When the summer comes and the beaches get a bit busier, patrol spikes more and everyone is on alert for sharks. I am not a big beach water fan, I will go to enjoy the scenery and layout but actually getting into the water, it's a no for me.
CNN is reporting some of the most shark-filled waters across the world. Just last year, over 50 unprovoked shark attacks were reported, according to CNN. So, what does this all mean? Using data on reported shark attacks, we're looking at what areas had the most shark attacks over some years. Unfortunately, both North and South Carolina made the list with quite a bit of shark attacks over the last few years. Below will only show what US states made the list, but to check out the full report click here.
Florida (259 bites)
Of course, Florida was going to make this list. With the state being a peninsula, majority of its coast is nothing but water. Specifically, Florida’s Volusia County is the prime location for shark attacks and sightings across the state. Official reports state that between 2pm and 3 pm on a September afternoon is prime time for sharks in the area. So, be careful!
Hawaii (76 bites)
Another spot that of course has tons of water around it, the island of Hawaii made the list as well. With 76 shark bites, the island of Maui is one of the top places in Hawaii for shark encounters. The under water terrain that the area has to offer is a huge attraction for shark visits. Just this past May, a tiger shark attacked a fisherman in shallow water in a kayak. Scary!
South Carolina (45 bites)
Here we are talking about the Carolinas. South Carolina making the list with reports of 45 shark bites over the years. Fortunately, none of the unprovoked 45 shark attacks were deadly in South Carolina. Major cities when it comes to these attacks are Charleston, Beufort, and Horry (Myrtle Beach area). South Carolina has tons of beautiful beaches but sharks are certainly randomly placed in shallow ends of the areas as well.
California (29 bites)
Did you know San Diego is one of shark bite peak spots in California? Out of the 29 bites, 20 of the shark bites were unprovoked attacks. Although stats show they shark attacks are at a peak in the summer, they can happen throughout the year over there as well.
