I signed up for the otterwatch on 2nd April hoping to simply see some cute otters, and I was not disappointed, but I did not expect an insightful lecture into otter behaviour, family hierarchy and a recap of the gruesome histories of 2 otter families at war. Led by the otter experts, we started just outside Nicoll Highway MRT and we would have seen them right away if they had just woken up a bit later 😡
But complaints aside, the possibility of seeing a family of 20 otters right outside an MRT station is testament to their adaptability as a species – to be able to adapt to such a niche urban environment so well is impressive, considering otter sightings in other countries are inconceivably harder to come by.We did instead get to see their home – a tiny tunnel that somehow manages to squeeze all the members which I have no way of comprehending how unless I was an otter maybe. We also got to see their poop which was not quite what I expected, because of the shattered glass-like appearance of their dried waste due to the fish scales in their diet. Looks pretty but smelly is an understatement.
Nonetheless, we marched on under the morning sun, over the bridge, onto the PCN, in hopes that our efforts would not be in vain.
In short: it was worth it. We managed to see the entire family of otters feeding and playing in a very picturesque pond that attracted a huge crowd! Other than being cute, they also exhibited some interesting behaviour such as different calls. If not for the otter experts there was no way I could have differentiated a normal adult’s call from a pup’s cry for food. There was one time when the otter pup got left behind by the group, its calls could be heard by the mother which rushed back to reunite it with the family. Seeing this complex family dynamic between otters just helped me appreciate these creatures even more.
Some otters drying themselves on the grass
We ended the walk with an otter crossing aided by the otter watchers, telling bikers and runners to low down when the otters were crossing. I’m glad to see everyone was so understanding and willing to stop to take a few pictures, because at the end of the day all of us will have to learn how to coexist peacefully with our little friends.
Thank you park goers!
With the recent spate of otter incidents on social media, it might paint a bad image for them. Some even say otters are edging into pest territory. However we have to understand that they are still territorial wild carnivores, and the price we have to pay to be fortunate enough to have these wonderful creatures right in our backyard is to learn how to respect their space and this applies to all urban wildlife as well. So while it may be tempting to pet an approaching otter pup, it would be best not to unless you want to be bitten.
On the 2nd of April 2022, I woke up early in the morning at around 6:00am ready to meet one of the otter families. I was very excited, hence I quickly packed my bag and headed to the meeting point. I was running a bit late but was really lucky to be able to reach at around 7:45am, where I was greeted by facilitator Marjorie and Yane.
Marjorie first introduced me to the Bishan otter family, which consists of 26 smooth-coated otters. She showed me the otters’ spraint (aka their faeces) and footprints, indicating that they were at the location before, which was also near where their holt (aka their underground home/nesting area) was. The spraint contained visible short fish bones, which means that the otters have really sharp teeth and are able to chew and swallow down fish bones. Even though the entrance to their holt looked really normal (like a regular hole; I would not know that it is their home), it is able to house 26 otters which was quite fascinating.
Otter’s footprints
Marjorie told me that the otters have woken up early in the morning at around 6:15am and had made their way across the river to the Bay East Gardens. Normally, they will go left or right but they decided to swim across the river that day. After understanding more about their habitat, we took a 45 mins walk over to Bay East Gardens along the Nicoll Highway, even though the walk was a little tiring, the route was scenic which made the walk much much better.
City skyline
On the way to meet the otters
When we arrive at the site, the Bishan otter family were swimming in a pond and having their breakfast (foraging for food), consisting of mostly fish. I was extremely happy when I got to see them in such close proximity and observe their behaviour. I heard many different kinds of noises, mainly 3 kinds: sounds of whining, grumbling when fighting and begging for food, high pitch squeaking by the adult otters and a deep short squeaking sound from the pups. There was also the crunching sound of the fish bones as they consumed the fish.
Otters rolling on the grass and sand to dry their fur and also heading back into the pond to catch more fish
That’s me trying to video them in action
The otter family then head to another pond, when the leader of the group made a call, to forage for more food. However, when they were about to move to their next location, they left one of the pups behind. The pup was too scared to cross the pavement so it made sounds to call for help from his mom. We patiently waited and witness how the otter mother and pup communicated through their calls and they managed to reunite. 🙂
Otters crossing the pavementWhitetip mum coming to the rescue of one of her pups
The otter family went into the river and swam across to forage for more fish to eat, however again they left their pups behind and some of them needed to come back to fetch them while the rest was busily eating the big catfish that was caught. At first, I saw how they were sharing the catfish, but eventually, it became a mini quarrel to claim a piece of the catfish for themselves. At the same time, I also saw how they co-exist with us in such an urban environment. Living in such an urban environment, a problem they would face would be high human traffic (cyclists and joggers), which would hinder them from crossing the park connector. Luckily, the facilitators managed to stop the cyclist and pedestrians to let the otters cross safely, which is a small action that we can do to ensure that not only the otters but we as pedestrians are also safe. The otters also defecated at another of their frequently used ‘toilet’ which was across the river.
Otters feasting on a catfish that they caught One location of their ‘toilet’, where they would defecate
In between and at the end of the walk, Yane shared with us more about the Otter Family, mainly the Bishan, Marina and Zouk families. Also, how the otter families are territorial and would fight for space, there was once a pup was killed during one of the fights and it resulted in the marina otter family retreating to another location. Hence, the territorial fights would ensure that their numbers are in check. She also touched on how the Marina otters were more friendly than the Bishan otter family, elaborating on the myth that many people think that there are too many otters and that they are everywhere, as we really do not know where they will be until we track their location down. Also, she shared that the Botanical Gardens incident was really unfortunate for the jogger as it was not him who step on the otter pup and was actually another jogger in front of him, however since he was the one nearest to the otters at that point in time, the otters attacked him instead. From this incident, we can learn that we should be careful of where we step and we should stay at least 3 to 5m away while observing these cute otters as they are considered wild animals and can pose harm to us if we go too near to them. Furthermore, I also learn that there are 2 kinds of otter species in Singapore, the smooth-coated otters and the other one I have not seen, the Asian small-clawed otter.
The otters also have many roles, such as apex predators to aid in clearing invasive species such as catfish, a bio-indicator of clean water as well as our mascot and feel-good trigger. They can be found in many places such as the sea, beaches, reservoirs, waterways, canals, drains, parks, park connectors, public open fields, and neighbourhoods as these places are interconnected and they would move from a big water body to a small water body and vice versa. They are intrigued by the sound of water, which is why they accidentally land in swimming pools and private fish ponds as they would want to check out the place to see if there are any fishes to eat. Hence, it is best to fence up fish ponds to prevent them from consuming our expensive pet fishes. Also, we can play our part to protect them by keeping our environment clean by discarding unused fish hooks, plastic, rubber and styrofoam responsibly.
Yane sharing with my group about the urban otters
All in all, it was a very meaningful morning witnessing the Bishan otter family and also meeting like-minded people who are passionate about wildlife and nature. I really hope that we can continue to co-exist with such wonderful animals in our urban environment and remember to always watch them from a distance to let them be comfortable in their own environment. Lastly, thank you to the organising committee for making this otter walk happen as well as to the volunteer guides from Otterwatch who shared with me so much information about the otters.
Thanks for reading and looking forward to more field trips ahead 😉
I got out of bed eager for an early morning adventure and made my way to our meeting point, somewhere deep inside Kranji. While waiting for the rest of the team to arrive, I was eating my breakfast….without realising I was becoming breakfast for the commander-level mosquitos!! At one point, I had 5 of them on me 😵. Alas, our insect repellants were not able to completely repel these little buggers, with me topping the charts with 30 over bites. We later learned that the mosquito situation worsened due to neighbouring constructions and an abandoned building…(which led me to think does that mean our migrant workers face such bites on a daily basis?)
Moving on to the main highlight of our trip – horseshoe crabs! After our safety briefing our guide from NSS, Lester, brought us down to the mudflats. At first, it was tough trying to adapt to walking across sinking mud, but soon we got the hang of it.
Heading down to the mudflats
Mudflats featuring Lester
Horseshoe Crabs
Lester introduced us to the various marine creatures living amongst our mudflats including flower crabs, cone snails etc. We then formed a line and gingerly looked through the mud and under the algae for the star of the show. There are four species of horseshoe crabs, and Singapore is home to two of them, the costal horseshoe crab and the mangrove horseshoe crab.
Once we found a large enough horseshoe crab Lester started to share all about them:
To differentiate between male and female, the front two legs for males are bulkier (almost bicep-looking). They moult to grow bigger, and you can only tell their sex once they reach sexual maturity. Jimmy’s post has a great picture showing these bicep looking legs, check it out.
We learnt about the anatomy of the horseshoe crab, including how to safely pick them up. What stood out for me was learning that their mouths are at the end of their legs, so technically whenever they are walking they are feeding too!
Horseshoe crabs are often bled for their blue blood that is used to test for the presence of bacteria in human medication (Previously pharma used rabbits). They are bled up to 75% of their blood before being released, Lester notes that survival rates after release are unknown. A synthetic alternative was innovated by National University of Singapore’s Department of Zoology, and is slowly getting adopted in the EU but for (ahem) particular reasons the US is not on board.(Random thought, where do SG pharma companies stand with this?)
The first horseshoe crab I found! You can tell it’s a female because of it’s legs
Another juvenile horseshoe crab – we saw many that day! v smolvcute
NSS’s Role in Horseshoe Crab Conservation
Lester shared that this initiative has been running for 11 years and pre-covid/ in the early days horseshoe crabs were collected safely by the buckets to be measured and gender-identified before releasing them back. Through the data collected, NSS submits them to IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) as the current record is “data deficient” and the Singapore Red Data Book (Where the mangrove horseshoe crab is listed as vulnerable, and costal horseshoe crab is listed as endangered.). That day, unfortunately we saw mostly juveniles. It seems like the population has definitely deteriorated 😔.
Panic! At Kranji Mudflats – The invasion of mussels
The invasion of the American Mussel hit headlines in 2018 – This blogpost by WildSingapore nicely captures the various articles by news outlets.
Beautiful but deadly! Common name: American Mussel ; Scientific name: Mytella strigata.
Found in dense mats of up to 10,000 individuals, the American Mussel was displacing the Asian Green Mussel native to Singapore, and making it difficult for horseshoe crabs to burrow in the sand. They even attached themselves to horseshoe crabs (see vid below).
Towards the end, we had to get out of the mudflats asap as it was about to rain. To sum it all up, I enjoyed myself and learnt a lot about horseshoe crabs on this trip, and I do hope that the government would offer this incredible species some protection!
Thanks for reading till the end, signing off with a video of a very sm0l horseshoe crab 🥰 (Link)
It was a beautiful Saturday morning which made it a perfect day to go Otter watching. I made my way to Nicoll Highway MRT at about 7.20am where I met with the facilitators, Marjorie, Yong Lin and Yane!
Yong Lin was the guide for my group. According to him, the otter group that we were supposed to see that day was a family of over 20 smooth-coated otters! Unfortunately, they had woken up early that day and have already made their way over to the Bay East Gardens around 6 am. In the meantime, we were able to take a closer look at the otters’ nesting area. Interestingly, despite the fact that the entrance to their underground chambers looked pretty small and ordinary, the underground chamber could house over 20 plus otters all together! The otters were also quite particular about hygiene as they would only defecate at a specific location a little distance outside their nesting site.
Image of the location where the otters would defecate.
We then made our way over to the Bay East Gardens by walking along the Nicoll Highway. I have managed to capture a beautiful scenery overlooking the Kallang River.
Image of the Kallang River.
When we arrived, we were greeted by the sight of otters frolicking among the lotus plants for their breakfast. Their diets consist of mostly fishes. Similar to some of us, some of the otters were lazy to catch their own fish, and would whine at those who have happened to have a successful catch, hoping to get a free meal!
After they have had their fill, the leader of the group made a call which had the same meaning as “Time to go!”. One by one, the otters clambered up onto the banks and dried themselves by rolling and rubbing themselves against the grass. It was a really adorable sight!
Image of otters drying themselves.
When the otters have more or less dried themselves, they slowly made their way over to the river. However, they were faced with a dreadful problem: high human traffic. Even for us, it was somewhat dangerous to stand at the edge of the Park Connector as there was a chance that we could meet with an accident with an unsuspecting cyclist. Thankfully, our facilitators stood their ground in the middle of the human traffic and formed like a human barrier, successfully making a pathway for the otters to scamper across safely.
Image of Otters crossing.
As we made our way to the debriefing location, I felt somewhat sad that my day with these otters has come to an end. At the same time, I was glad that I had taken the time to meet this amazing family. My experience that day has left me with much to ponder over. As the environment in Singapore flourishes, our encounters with these wildlife would only continue to increase. Yet, some members of the public have expressed their dissent and fear of these wildlife being a nuisance in our concrete jungle. Some even have demanded the culling of the population in hopes of “controlling” them. Personally, I find the views from this group of people to be really cruel. They choose to fear the wildlife instead of learning how to interact and understand them. In all honestly, these wildlife would not harm us unless we have provoked them first.
Another early morning again…All of us got up to meet outside the Kranji-Mandai Mudflats to see horseshoe crabs. And right before we entered the area, we were met with the first challenge: the fierce mosquitoes! Despite applying much insect repellant, all of us had many mosquito bites. Thankfully there were not as many mosquitoes in the mudflat. At 7.35am, we started to move into the mudflat.
The mudflat is a restricted area and probably for a good reason. In my opinion, it is mainly to protect the wildlife there like the horseshoe crabs. Another reason could be the crocodiles in the water body next to the mudflat. “We always work our way down because never face your back to the crocodiles.” – a very memorable quote that I’ll remember. (haha) We went in with our Nature Society Singapore guide, Lester. He showed us many creatures living at the mudflats. We saw a flower crab, telescope snail, conch snail (In particular a drill snail) and a thunder crab. Word of caution: We learnt that a certain conch snail may inject a toxin that is fatal to humans and a thunder crab may pinch you quite hard so handle animals carefully. While walking through the mudflat. we were faced with yet another challenge. We kept sinking in the mud! Good tip that I learnt was not to think too much about it and keep moving forward.
A flower crab!
Next, we started looking for horseshoe crabs which may be trapped under some algae. We worked our way down nearer to the sea and slowly revealing what is under the algae. I was a little impatient at first, when most of the participants managed to find a horseshoe crab. Then I managed to find one, only to find out it was the moult of the horseshoe crab. Midway through the search, Lester stopped us to explain more about the horseshoe crab. We learnt to identify parts of the horseshoe crabs like the gills and the mouth which is at the bottom of the horseshoe crab. The horseshoe crab has a tail to make itself upright during the high tide if it is flipped over. We also learnt to differentiate between a female and a male and their reproduction method (where the male latches on to the female and follows her until she finds a place to lay her eggs). Another thing we learnt was about invasive species like mussels which could possibly grow in the horseshoe crab. After that, we continued searching and I managed to find one myself which was an exciting experience for me.
The underside of a horseshoe crabBaby horseshoe crab (Please be careful and do not crush its shell)Invasive mussel species
The weather started to take a turn nearing to the end so we tried to quickly make our way out of the mudflats. We still got caught in the rain so we had to clean up at the bus stop. Nonetheless, it was a really eye-opening experience. This mudflat used to be a fishing village and there used to be nets still there so once in a while, the nets are checked and any horseshoe crabs are released. People have some misconception that the mudflats are useless and barren. Especially with the smell of some stuff decaying and it has much trash left behind from the fishing village. But there we saw mangroves growing and there is also wildlife there, so actually it is a place worth keeping. The mudflat condition are also changing, leading to lesser horseshoe crabs. In order to save more wildlife there, I hope to help raise some awareness to have more people help the wildlife there.
The landscape of the mudflat
To end off, I really appreciated this experience and thank you to everyone who made this experience really memorable. Thanks for reading! 🙂
The walk to our meeting point at Chestnut Point was a stretch along rows of condominiums. The transition from urban to wild was like entering an entirely different universe. Are we still in Singapore? Traversing through the underpass to our starting point felt like a doorway to another world. Who would have thought that nature could exist alongside towering blocks of concretes and a busy highway as well?
A peloton of cyclists crowd Chestnut Point, some resting from the steep ascent to the park’s entrance from civilization. After a some time, I met up with the group. It was a small and cosy group consisting of three others, our guide, Kripa, our facilitator, Stefanie and fellow BFF participant, Abishek. The walk began with an introduction to some of the flora in Chestnut Park.
Image: Simpoh Air (Dillenia Suffruticosa) – The leaves are used to wrap foods like Tempeh.
Image: Walking Figs – These plants are commonly found in Singapore’s secondary forests
Our guide, Kripa also shared with us that many of the plants like the Oil Palm, Durian, and even Ginger are plants left behind by people who used to live in kampungs back in the 1900s. As we moved further into the forest it became more apparent that the amount of biodiversity here is far more diverse than I could imagine.
Image: Wasp Figs – These figs are home to specific species of fig wasps. Fig wasp females dig their way into figs like these to lay their eggs. As they do so, they lose their wings in the process. The fig wasp males are usually the first to hatch and live inside these figs and mate with females that enter the figs. Only certain species of wasps choose to breed in certain species of figs.Image: Fungi grow on decomposing bio-material.
If our guide, Kripa hadn’t pointed it out to us, we would have completely missed the Colugo having its’ daytime nap. Perfectly camouflaged atop a tree, the Colugo hung on, completely still. It was pointed out to us that the Colugo was aware of our presence, as its’ eyes were still opened. Upon seeing this, it made me wonder how many nature trails I have walked and how many animals have passed me by, unnoticed.
Image: Sundah or MalayanColugo (Galeopterus Variegatus) – The colugo or flying lemur is a nocturnal animal that is usually found clinging on to tree trunks and hanging on tree branches. Image: Unidentified spider having a feast. I saw a lot of different spiders but did not have the right tools to take good pictures. Please recommend a macro rig I can try out!Image: Woolly Aphid? I’m not too sure. But this hairy thing caught my eye when it started moving.
We approached a narrow bridge built across a small stream. The view was picturesque; a small flowing stream dressed with dense vegetation and leaf litter.
We come upon a clearing in the forest where a log had rotted, and fungi were growing atop it. Kripa our guide explained to us that the forest is like a network, and it sends information throughout this “interconnectedness” tells the fungus where something has died, so that it knows where and when to start sprouting.
Image: Unidentified fungus.
We approach the mid-point of our trip, a drain canal, fenced.
Image: A scene from IT. This is where Singapore’s version of Pennywise, The Clown lives. Image: Unidentified Ginger plant. I swear I could have taken a better picture. These Ginger plants are probably the same ones that the locals who once lived here use to propagate. Image: Off the beaten path. Image: Snail.
We took a less traveled shortcut and cut our way through some vegetation to arrive on the road back to civilization. Here, we found a second Colugo. This one was of a slightly duller color, and we presumed that it is a female of the species.
Image: Sundah or MalayanColugo (Galeopterus Variegatus) – Female Colugos tend to be larger and greyish in colour. The males are more brightly colored reddish-brown. Image: Assassin Bug (Cosmolestes Picticeps) – One of Singapore’s native species of Assassin Bugs. This family of insects is so-named because of their method of hunting by stabbing their prey. Image: Greater Racket-Tailed Drongo(Dicurus Paradiseus) – These birds are found near Plantain Squirrels and Long-Tailed Macaques to look for insects that fall off while the animals are foraging.
As we neared the end of the trail, we were greeted by a family of Long-Tailed Macaques. Surprisingly despite being the second most successful primate in South-East Asia, first being Homo Sapiens, it is still listed as Vulnerable under IUCN’s (International Union for Conservation of Nature) list. This is probably due to the fact that they are only found in secondary forests like these, and in South-East Asia, these forests are in decline. In Singapore particularly, only about 2.9% of the country’s land area consists of areas like these.
This fact alone is an indicator that we should create more awareness for our last vestiges of wildlife in Singapore. Singapore is doing a great job integrating with nature, with the surrounding condominiums doing trails around the condominium filled with dense vegetation. But with that, we city dwellers do have to learn to be more tolerant of our wild animal counterparts.
Image: Long-Tailed Macaque (Macaca Fascicularis) – The only commonly sighted monkey species in Singapore.
Returning back to civilisation was a breath of fresh air. It was like every nature walk I have been to, returning from a whole new other world. And this world is right under our noses too. I hope this entry gives people a glimpse into the wild side of Singapore. Maybe, this will encourage more Singaporeans to find a day or two to head down to a park or nature trail near you to experience Singapore’s greener side, and at the same time, be more respectful to its’ inhabitants.
Entrance next to a newly constructed factory building
The Horseshoe Crab Rescue & Research event was conducted by Lester from Nature Society Singapore (NSS) at Kranji-Mandai mangrove mudflats on 7 April 2022, 7.30 am.
This morning, I arrived about 15 minutes late at the meeting venue as I had underestimated the travelling time for cycling, and the intermittent rain caused the roads to be wet and slippery.
Thanks to my team for giving the directions, I managed to find my way to the correct entrance to the mudflats.
Litter near the gate
Upon entering the gate, the first sight that greeted me was the sheer amount of rubbish strewn on the ground.
Gosh, it’s been nearly a decade since I last came here for a similar event conducted by NSS, where we cleaned up the beach, and this place has been dirtied again? I thought to myself.
New mangrove shoots on the beach
Thankfully, as I made my way to the beach where the mudflats were exposed at low tide, I saw very little litter on the sea shore, which appeared fairly clean and undisturbed for the most part.
I was also glad to see mangrove saplings taking root on the mudflats, which suggests that the mangroves are in the process of restoration.
I spotted my team members gathering on the mudflats some distance away, and I walked gingerly on the soft muddy shore towards them, hoping not to get my shoes wet.
Alas, I soon found myself sinking ankle-deep into the mud at one point, and I resigned myself to having to trudge around in soggy shoes and socks.
Perhaps as a consolation, I chanced upon a tiny horseshoe crab, which was barely conspicuous against the dark muddy ground surface.
A baby horseshoe crab
I signalled to Lester to come over and take a look to see if it was dead or alive, as it appeared to be staying still instead of crawling around slowly.
Just then, another group member found a bigger horseshoe crab and passed it to Lester, and he began to share with us interesting facts about horseshoe crabs, such as their physiology, gender differences, feeding habits, conservation status, how to pick them up without injuring them, and how researchers would rescue and measure them before releasing them back into the wild.
Lester demonstrating how to hold a horseshoe crab properly to avoid injuring its tail
Then my group members continued to comb the mudflats for horseshoe crabs and other marine and seashore creatures, while I stayed around my little zone, hoping not to step on any horseshoe crab by mistake, since they were hard to spot and they also have become rare and endangered in the world over the years.
Lester briefed the group about other marine creatures found at the mudflats, such as crabs.
Meanwhile, I was glad to see another small horseshoe crab (which appeared to be moving its tail a little when I picked it up), as well as some other tiny sea creatures, such as a crab and sea snails.
Sea snail moving aroundUnderside of horseshoe crab
Soon, it was time to call it a day, and just as we were making our way from the mudflats to the gate entrance, it started raining again. I was fortunate to see a medium-sized horseshoe crab in a rivulet near the high tide mark along the coastline along the way.
As noted by another team member, this horseshoe crab appears to be a male, going by its thick legs (which somewhat resemble biceps).
All in all, it was an informative and fruitful horseshoe crab rescue and research trip. I was pleasantly surprised to see at least a few of these crabs (which actually are closely related to spiders and scorpions instead of true crabs), as I had thought that their populations have been declining to the point of near extinction in many places by now, due to various factors, such as habitat loss, pollution, exploitation, and so on, over the years.
The day after April’s fools, I thought to myself: “Waking up at 6am. I must be kidding.” The sun was not up but I was not alone on the way to Nicoll Highway.
Just in time for attendance. But not as lucky with the otters’ grace. Well, at least we got to see the spraints. Catching a whiff of the fishy excrement, Elicited our repulsion.
Round and round we go up the highway, On our way to catch a glimpse of the cuties. As the sun bore witness, It was time to observe the smooth-coated Interact with SG’s suburban landscape.
Preying on the carp in the lotus pond, Safeguarding the native species of SG, Controlling the population of invasive carps.
PCN, what a nightmare. Heart attacks. Worries. Their safety, The utmost priority.
What a sight to behold! People, bicycles, and rollerblades Stop for the otters to cross on a busy PCN.
The sun was up high but I was not alone basking in their wake. The day after April’s fools, I thought to myself: “Waking up at 6am. It was worth it.”
Ps: Note to self. Never go near a grunting otter. Respect their boundaries.
On 2 April 2022, I woke up at around 6am to prepare to meet an otter family. It was definitely a rare occasion for me to wake up at such timing, however meeting these adorable creatures made me feel very thrilled early in the morning.
All participants gathered at 7:30am near an area where supposedly the family resides to rest. Upon arriving, our dear otter friends woke up earlier than all of us and started their day early. I was expecting a chill walk and observe kind of day, but the otters said no! we must exercise and trek to track them down.
Our first activity was to observe that one medium hole that the otter family has made. It was mind-blowing that such hole could fit all 26 members. They do love to get snuggly! Beside it was a fresh track of their wastes. I definitely now know how an otter waste smells like! You could also see what is their diet like, as you can observe if it has fish bones or tails.
After familiarising with their habitat, we went for a good 15-20min walk towards where the otters are spotted. It was a very hot day but the fresh morning breeze and marina bay sands view was definitely a sight to see.
We spotted all 26 family members in a pond where they are having their first meal. I got to hear all sort of sounds such as fighting for a fish, the pups begging for food, and high pitch squeaking to gather everyone together if they are slowly moving. The adult have more high pitch sound, while the 3 pups have more of a deep grungy sound. I have observed that whenever they eat the fish, specifically in this case it was a catfish, you could hear the bones cracking sound as they devour the fish fully.
Once the otter family has moved on to their next location, they have unfortunately left one pup behind 😦 Our group was patient enough to witness how one of the parent came back for its pup as it makes sounds to call for help.
The otter family went on to the sea to eat more meals and we witnessed how they co-exist with us in urban areas. From stopping at the side before crossing a street as bicycles and passengers walk by to also being a good-indicator of clean water or good biodiversity as they can live at such areas.
To sum up our day, we had a discussion at the end to thoroughly explain what we have witnessed and things we could do if we ever encounter otters around. It was a pleasure meeting the bishan family and meeting like-minded people around. I hope to see them again!
Due to COVID: maximum 3 otter crossing!devouring fish! nom nom nomrolling on the grass after devouring some fish hehehethe little pup that was left behind :cmommy pup to the rescue! A few otters trying to cross the road to get to the otter side.my group ❤
We reached Bukit Batok Nature Park at around 730pm, and met Uncle Tony at the benches beside the carpark. When I arrived, he had already started telling tales of the conservation landscape and history of environmental protection in Singapore. After a short discussion, we set off, torch in hand, looking for the big 3 nocturnal mammals: colugo, flying squirrel and the civet cat.
Along the way, Uncle Tony gave us arguably one of the most informative lecture on the various plants growing in the park vicinity. I have been to Bukit Batok Nature Park many times, but I have never noticed the nuanced differences between the many flora species there. In particular, Uncle Tony introduced us to the Sea Apple plant, a species that’s supposed to be growing along coastal areas but doing perfectly fine inland. We also learnt how to identify cinnamon, rubber and durian trees from their leaves. The flora that stood out for me is the Banyan Fig, spreading wide and far using its roots and creating massive structures.
While we did not manage to see much fauna aside from a rogue chicken, we did manage to catch a glimpse of some interesting insects and arachnids. The bug-eyed katydid greeted us at the carpark, and the Olios huntsman showed up along the ridges.
All in all, it was a most refreshing experience for me, who has lived in the area for as long as i can remember. If I have the chance, I would definitely meet Uncle Tony again and listen to his amazing tales of the unique plants growing in Bukit Batok Nature Park!
BFF Biodiversity Challenge 2022 