TikTok’s Good News Mascot: The Saga of Charlotte the Stingray

TFD – Join the online frenzy surrounding Charlotte the stingray, TikTok’s latest sensation, as she defies odds with a miraculous pregnancy through parthenogenesis. Discover the captivating story behind #Charlottethestingray and the worldwide anticipation of her impending birth.

Charlotte is the TikTok generation’s Virgin Mary. Only she’s not human, and she’s carrying up to four messiahs.

For an instant, there were people who openly questioned if Charlotte, a spherical stingray roughly the size of a serving platter, had been struck by a shark. She has spent the last eight years alone, isolated from other males of her species, in a tank in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Her caregivers at the Aquarium and Shark Lab surmised that the bite scars they saw on her might indicate that she had mated with one of the male white-spotted bamboo sharks in her tank after learning she was expecting up to four pups.

“When I first saw this story, I thought, ‘That didn’t happen,'” says Dave Ebert, a California Academy of Sciences shark and ray researcher.

Charlotte’s flawless conception is most likely the result of a process called parthenogenesis, which is essentially an organism impregnating itself. Even while it occurs more frequently in plants and invertebrates, elasmobranchs like Charlotte might experience it on occasion, particularly when kept in captivity.

Social media was originally captivated by the whole ray-shark mating scenario, but what truly grabbed attention was Charlotte’s narrative of doing it all by herself. The meme “Stingray Jesus” has already taken off, but she is expected to give birth any moment (Team Ecco, the educational group that oversees the Aquarium and Shark Lab, has been posting updates on its Facebook page frequently).

It goes without saying that the internet adores this garbage. This story combines science, mystery, and perhaps lustful marine life. Furthermore, “Stingray Jesus” has a fantastic sound, akin to a band from a Simpsons episode. Eugene, Oregon restaurant manager Kayla Gratzer claims in a TikTok that Charlotte has “queen energy” if she mates with a shark. Over 11 million people have watched her video. Amanda, a TikTokker in Glasgow who posts under the handle @continentalbreakfast, noted, “My girl just spent her best years girl-bossin’ and pursuing her career until she decided the time was right.” Her post has more than 1.4 million views. Charlotte has inspired tattoo designs, and churchy-looking illustrations set to the song “Angel” by Sarah McLachlan. Everyone, it seems, is Team Charlotte.

Gratzer adds that she’s genuinely appreciative when the news provides people something humorous to discuss on TikTok, but she never imagined that “a silly video I filmed while scratching a $2 [lottery ticket] would gain so much traction.” “That is a dream.” However, Charlotte’s story has a different tone when you take into account the other news from the previous week.

The Alabama Supreme Court decided on Tuesday that someone may be held accountable for wrongful death if they destroy a frozen embryo. The largest hospital in the state is already suspending in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures in response to the court’s ruling, which is being criticized for potentially having a chilling effect on individuals seeking IVF. Last week, dancing to Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” became a popular TikTok craze. Some users of the app utilized the song to advocate for reproductive rights. In this instance, “Plan Bey” refers to giving a pregnant individual a credit card as Beyoncé sings, “This ain’t Texas,” a reference to the Lone Star State’s adoption of some of the most stringent abortion regulations since the Supreme Court’s decision.

A stingray becoming pregnant on her own has genuine folk hero potential at a time when humans are attempting to restrict other people’s reproductive choices. The orca that crashed wealthy people’s boats was named White Gladys last year. Everyone wants to call Charlotte mom this year.

According to Kevin Feldheim, a researcher at the Field Museum who specializes in studying rays and sharks, technically speaking, scientists are unsure of how parthenogenesis is initiated, but they are fairly certain that one of the three other cells, referred to as “polar bodies,” that are created during the meiosis, or cell division, that produces eggs, fertilizes the egg. Polar bodies are normally absorbed by the female; however, during parthenogenesis, this is not the case. Feldheim reiterates that it’s uncommon but not entirely so, “especially when females are isolated from males in human care.”

Charlotte appears to be under the internet’s care right now. This week, social media went crazy when she missed a few anticipated deadlines. One TikTok user wrote, “The world is waiting!” With daily updates, Gratzer started. #Charlottethestingray and Stingray Jesus posts increased from a couple dozen to hundreds. People are watching with the short-breathed anticipation of a Maury Povich reveal. By the time you read this, the messiah(s) may be swimming, but the world will be far from saved.