Marine experts skeptical of Charlotte's story, concerned for stingray's health

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Larry Boles, the director of the Aquarium Science Program at Oregon Coast Community College, believes Charlotte the stingray may not have long to live.

“She needed veterinary care a long time ago,” said Boles, who’s reviewed recent images of Charlotte taken by volunteers working with her in Hendersonville at the Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO.

“The lack of care means she’s at a much higher risk of not surviving this,” said Boles. “We have been getting pictures and video almost daily when the place is open. As you probably know, they’re banning video from visitors now.”

EXCLUSIVE: CHARLOTTE THE STINGRAY IS NOT PREGNANT, OWNER CONFIRMS

Boles was one of the early skeptics when Brenda Ramer, curator and educator of Aquarium and Shark Lab by Team ECCO, stated Charlotte was pregnant and postulated in a Feb. 3 news release the stingray had possibly been impregnated by a shark in the tank. Below is an excerpt from the Feb. 3 news release:

...in mid July 2023 we moved tow 1 year old white spot bamboo males into that tank. There was nothing we could find definitively about their maturation rate, so we did not think there would be an issue.

We started to notice bite marks on Charlotte, but saw other fish nipping at her, so we moved fish, but the biting continued.

Then our light bulb went off – sharks bite to mate – did one of our young males mate with her?

Boles said he and other marine experts tried to debunk Ramer’s talk, but the story of a stingray possibly getting pregnant without a male stingray in the tank had already taken on a life of its own.

“The idea a shark could be a parent was biologically ridiculous,” said Boles. “She [Ramer] started with the miscommunication about the shark being the father. Our interest from the beginning was the miseducation of the public, as this story evolved and team ECCO’s story evolved multiple times."

Right now, Boles said he and other marine experts are most concerned with the animal and if she's suffering.

“My understanding is Brenda Ramer is 100% in charge of this facility, and makes decisions about every bit of animal care along the way, so I don’t know who else we can hold responsible," Boles said.

Friday, Ramer confirmed Charlotte isn’t pregnant. She said Charlotte has a reproductive disease but could not elaborate with any more specifics, telling News 13 not much is known. Boles disputes that and said reproductive cysts are common in stingrays and had the animal been diagnosed months ago, there’s the possibility the marine animal could have been helped.

“It’s important for everyone to know that in February, Brenda received an email from me and other professionals saying sharks are not the fathers, please stop saying that. And two, your animal most likely has reproductive disease, and this animal needs veterinary care right away.”

A statement on the Aquarium's Facebook page said they were closed June 1 as staff "continue to care for Charlotte." News 13 tried to reach Ramer by email and phone but did not get a response.

“Hopefully the attention now will be paid to the animal’s health,” said Eric Hovland, associate curator of The Florida Aquarium. “There’s certainly something going on inside.”

Boles tells News 13 after reviewing recent images of Charlotte, he sees significant muscle loss on the animal and the retraction of her eyes into the eye sockets. He said these are both signs the animal is unwell.

He said he and other marine professionals tried to point out early on that they believe Ramer doesn’t have adequate education, training or certifications to determine what exactly was happening with Charlotte. He said he thinks Ramer chose to focus on the possibility that Charlotte was pregnant even though in a February interview with News 13, she explained she and others had concerns about lumps on Charlotte in August of 2023. “We found a lump on her back,” Ramer previously told News 13. “So our first thought was cancer.”

Ramer did raise the possibility of cancer in a news release she sent in February but did not explain if or how she dismissed that possibility and instead focused on the theory that Charlotte was pregnant.

“I have never questioned Brenda’s motivation to help children,” said Boles. “And I have also heard from members of the community that their own children have had positive experiences there. My statement has been, you do not have to pretend to be a scientist to accomplish that goal. And, Team ECCO has advertised themselves as a research center which is preposterous, and have represented themselves as knowledgeable in this field. And again, going back to their very first announcement about this story, have demonstrated they’re not. They’re self-taught, many a hobbyist is self-taught. But in this case they’ve shown they’re not capable of providing adequate veterinary care.”

Boles said this should call into question their credentials for being a science educator or a spokesperson in biology in general.

CHARLOTTE THE STINGRAY'S OWNER TALKS 1-ON-1 WITH NEWS 13 AFTER NEWS OF DEVELOPED DISEASE

Boles also said he was shocked at how much press coverage the “virgin birth” theory around Charlotte got. He said he was shocked the story went viral and didn’t have more stories published with experts questioning what Ramer was stating publicly.

“There are hundreds, maybe even thousands of unaccredited zoos and aquariums around the country that are run by individuals as a private operation that do not meet our modern standards of animal care for zoos and aquariums," he stated.

The Hendersonville aquarium run by Ramer is listed as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

“Throughout the story I’ve encouraged people to look to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and their accreditation of facilities as an easy way to determine what type of animal facility you want to support," Boles said.