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North Carolina aquarium astonished after female stingray becomes pregnant with no male stingrays nearby

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North Carolina aquarium astonished after female stingray becomes pregnant with no male stingrays nearby

A North Carolina aquarium says that it has a scientific anomaly on its hands: a pregnant stingray with no apparent mate.

Hendersonville-based Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO houses a female round stingray named Charlotte. At first, staff worried that the stingray might have cancer.

The aquarium’s founder and executive director Brenda Ramer told Fox News Digital that she was stumped when she noticed Charlotte swelling.

WORLD’S LARGEST, RAREST OCEAN STINGRAYS SPOTTED AND TAGGED IN MOZAMBIQUE 

“We’ve always known she was a she,” Ramer laughed. “Very visible to tell the difference. Sharks and rays are two of the easiest fish to tell.”

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Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO said that Charlotte, a round stingray, became pregnant with no male stingrays nearby. (Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO)

“We noticed that she had started to, for lack of a better word, swell,” she explained. “So we decided to ultrasound her, and we saw what we thought were lumps or growths inside of her.”

To the aquarium staff’s relief, the lumps were not tumors at all. They were pups – even though Charlotte had no recent contact with male stingrays.

“We sent [the ultrasound] off to have some other folks look at it, and they said, ‘You know, those are eggs.’ And we’re like, ‘Okay, well this is great,’” Ramer recalled.

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The aquarium, which is the first inland aquarium in North Carolina, has been in contact with experts from Australia and the United Kingdom about the oddity.

X-ray of pregnant stingray

Aquarium staff members have spoken to marine biologists across the world about the stingray’s miracle pregnancy. (Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO)

The expectant stingray likely reproduced through a method called parthenogenesis.

“The cells within the egg will split, and they create a clone of the mother,” Ramer described. “Our little shark has lain [around] 900 eggs in the past eight years, and she has had 14 of those eggs grow embryos with no fertilization.”

“It’s such a hard concept to even think about, but I always tell people, think about the very first Jurassic Park movie. The dinosaurs did the exact same thing.”

The aquarium founder has floated the idea that a male shark in the tank impregnated the stingray but conceded that it “is really not that strong of a possibility.” 

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Split image of stingray swimming in tank

Charlotte has appeared pleasant and healthy during her pregnancy, Brenda Ramer says. (Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO)

“We had noticed that she had had some bite marks on her, and we thought it was fish… and then it hit us. We had put these two young male sharks in there who we didn’t think would be viable. But gosh, what if they mated with her?” Ramer said.

“Anything is really possible when it comes to animals,” the aquarium’s assistant director, Kinsley Boyette, told Fox News Digital. 

For now, the aquarium believes that Charlotte is likely reproducing asexually.

FISHERMEN CATCH 661-POUND STINGRAY, WORLD’S LARGEST FRESHWATER FISH

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“I’m not saying that it’s not a dead certain possibility. But until we do DNA tests… we can’t actually say anything for 100% certainty.”

Ramer said that the response from the local community has been supportive, and that the soon-to-be mama is doing well.

Charlotte the stingray at the bottom of a fish tank

Aquarium staff members feared that Charlotte had cancer when she began swelling. (Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO)

“She seems pleasant, none of her behaviors have changed,” the executive director said. “She’s healthy, she’s eating, she’s swimming. She’s letting us interact with her.”

“No matter what the outcome [is]… we are just crossing our fingers that Charlotte comes out of it okay, and the babies do too.”

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Southeast

Georgia mom, newborn twins killed sheltering from Hurricane Helene; twins are likely storm's youngest victims

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Georgia mom, newborn twins killed sheltering from Hurricane Helene; twins are likely storm's youngest victims

A Georgia woman died alongside her twin newborn boys while hunkering down for their safety as Hurricane Helene ripped through their rural town. 

Obie WIlliams discovered his daughter, Kobe Williams, 27, and her sons, Khyzier and Khazmir, after a tree fell on top of their trailer in Thomson, 120 miles east of Atlanta, causing her to fall on top of the children. 

Williams said he received a call from his daughter last week as Helene battered the area. She heeded his advice and sheltered in the bathroom with her month-old babies until the storm passed. When she stopped answering her family’s phone calls, Williams dodged power lines and downed trees to check on her and the boys. 

MORGAN WALLEN DONATES TO HURRICANE HELENE RELIEF, SAYS FAMILY IS ‘SAFE’ AMID DEVASTATING FLOODS

Kobe Williams and her twin sons, Khazmir and Khyzier, were killed in their home in Thomson, Ga., by a falling tree during Hurricane Helene Sept. 30. (Obie Lee Williams via AP)

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“I’d seen pictures when they were born and pictures every day since, but I hadn’t made it out there yet to meet them,” Williams told The Associated Press, days after the storm ravaged eastern Georgia. “Now I’ll never get to meet my grandsons. It’s devastating.”

Williams’ grandsons were born Aug. 20 and are the youngest known victims of Helene, which has claimed the lives of at least 230 people throughout the Southeast.

The death toll is expected to rise as search and rescue continues to comb through new areas.

HURRICANE HELENE: NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENTS FIGHT FOR THEIR SURVIVAL AS BASIC GOODS BECOME SCARCE

Civil Air Patrol load water

Members of the Civil Air Patrol load water for Hurricane Helene relief into a pickup truck at a water station in Augusta, Ga.  (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

Williams described his daughter as a lovable, outgoing and strong young woman who always had a smile on her face and loved to make people laugh. She was studying to be a nursing assistant but had taken time off from school to give birth to her sons.

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“That was my baby,” he said. “And everybody loved her.”

Williams, who lives in Augusta, said many of his 14 other children are still without power in their homes across Georgia. Some have sought refuge in Atlanta, and others have traveled to Augusta to see their father and mourn together.

Williams said they are waiting for the bodies to be released by the county coroner and for roads to be cleared before arranging a funeral.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Passengers intervene on flight when man allegedly attacks woman next to him, video shows

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Passengers intervene on flight when man allegedly attacks woman next to him, video shows

Several passengers intervened on an American Airlines flight this week when a man allegedly attacked a woman sitting next to him, video taken by another passenger appeared to show. 

The incident happened Wednesday on a flight from Miami to Charlotte, North Carolina.

“This evening, there was a violent incident on my @AmericanAir Flight AA 310 from Miami to Charlotte,” another passenger, journalist Arjun Singh, who took the video posted on social media, said. “Several men jumped to subdue another man in first class, who entered an altercation with the lady next to him. The flight landed 26 minutes early, but we aren’t getting off soon.”

AIR TRAVELER INVADES PASSENGER’S PERSONAL SPACE TO SNAP PHOTOS OF CLOUDS THROUGHOUT FLIGHT 

Several passengers intervened on an American Airlines flight this week when a man allegedly attacked a woman sitting next to him, video taken by another passenger appeared to show.  (Arjun Singh, @arjunswritings / TMX)

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“Don’t f—— touch her! Get your f—— hands off of her right now!” one of the passengers could be heard saying to the man in the video.

“You touch her again, you’re gonna get f—— arrested,” he added. 

Flight attendants soon arrived, and the woman said she was OK, but agreed to move to a seat across the aisle from her alleged attacker.

EMERGENCY LANDING PROMPTS UNITED AIRLINES PILOT TO ORDER DINNER FOR 150 PASSENGERS

Passengers intervening

(Arjun Singh, @arjunswritings / TMX)

After the woman moved, she told the man who accused her of assaulting him: “You weren’t assaulted. I put my hand over your mouth to shut you up. I didn’t slap you. I put my hand over your mouth.” 

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Minutes later, after the flight landed, an officer arrived and passengers were asked if any of them had seen him assault her. He began taking statements from those who said they’d seen the attack. 

The alleged aggressor and the woman were escorted off the plane, according to the New York Post. 

It wasn’t clear what the man and woman’s relationship was or if the man was arrested. 

Police officer taking notes on plane

After the flight landed, an officer took statements from witnesses.  (Arjun Singh, @arjunswritings / TMX)

Fox News Digital has reached out to American Airlines and the Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Department for comment. 

“Two customers traveling together were engaged in an altercation aboard American Airlines flight 310, with service from Miami (MIA) to Charlotte (CLT) on Oct. 2.” American Airlines told the Post.

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“Local law enforcement responded and escorted the customers from the CLT airport. We do not tolerate violence, and we thank our team members for their professionalism in managing a difficult situation.”

The airline wrote in the comments of Singh’s post: “Our first priority is the safety of the crew and our customers, and we take these matters very seriously.”

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Samaritan's Purse continues Helene relief efforts with three water filtration systems in North Carolina

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Samaritan's Purse continues Helene relief efforts with three water filtration systems in North Carolina

Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian humanitarian aid organization, has expanded its relief efforts to hard-hit areas in western North Carolina with three water filtration systems.

The water filters can provide clean water for 10,000 people daily, or up to 50,000 liters. Samaritan’s Purse designed the filtration systems with an in-house team of engineers.

THOSE SUFFERING FROM HURRICANE HELENE’S IMPACT GET HELP FROM REV. FRANKLIN GRAHAM AND SAMARITAN’S PURSE

One of the locations where the water filters have been deployed, Swannanoa, had its water pipeline network completely destroyed during Hurricane Helene. 

“We designed these systems to use overseas—and they work so well—but now the need is in our own backyard,” said Rev. Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse in a release.

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The Samaritan’s Purse water filters provide up to 50,000 liters of clean water daily. (Courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse)

“We are airlifting supplies, mudding out homes, removing trees, and doing so much more—all in Jesus’ Name—and we’re thankful for everyone who is helping make it possible. We want to remind each person that we help that God loves and cares for them and hasn’t forgotten them,” the Rev. added.

GEORGIA MAN SHARES STORY OF SURVIVAL IN NORTH CAROLINA AFTER HURRICANE HELENE: ‘INCREASED MY FAITH IN GOD’

Samaritan’s Purse, which is based in Boone, North Carolina, has also delivered emergency relief supplies to communities in need via 19 helicopter operations thus far. Many North Carolina communities were cut off from road systems during Hurricane Helene.

Engineer checking water filtration levels

More than 2,700 Samaritan’s Purse volunteers have brought aid to those affected by Hurricane Helene. (Courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse)

Food, water, infant hygiene kits, and medical supplies have also been airlifted by Samaritan’s Purse to some of the most isolated and affected areas. The organization is operating a 20-bed emergency field hospital in Avery County for those hardest hit by Hurricane Helene and to continue oxygen care for those without electricity.

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Woman filling water

Samaritan’s Purse has also flown supplies to hard-hit areas from Hurricane Helene in 19 separate helicopter operations thus far. (Courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse)

In addition to basic supplies, nearly 3,000 volunteers have answered the call with Samaritan’s Purse to assist over 140 North Carolina families. Volunteers have cleared and cut downed trees, clearing storm debris, and mudding out flooded homes.

Samaritan’s Purse has also deployed Disaster Relief Units to communities in Georgia and Florida which have been affected by Hurricane Helene.

The current death toll from Hurricane Helene sits at 232 at the time of publishing of this article.

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