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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 🙂

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.

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.

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 😉

The meeting time is 7.30am!! I can’t believe I ‘m getting up so early just for a nature walk. This was the initial thought I had in the morning before going on the otter walk. However I have no regrets getting up early to see this breathtaking view at the park. It was the fresh air that I much needed.

I was really excited to get to see some otters today and to learn more about them, hence I signed up for this walk. However, we were hit with a piece of not-so-great news. The otters left for the other side of the river earlier this morning. It was a little disappointing to know but I knew that this is still a great learning opportunity. First activity this morning was to take a look at their habitat. We got to see their holt and learnt the process of marking their territory, which is when the alpha male spraints (release faeces) and it spreads its scent by a swishing tail motion. Who knew? We also got to know more about this family of otters. Interesting fact: They are smooth-coated otters! I thought that they were Asian small-clawed otters. I also learnt a little more about their life cycle and some threats they may face.

In order to see the otters, we had to take a long (but scenic!) route to the other side of the river. It was extremely worth it when we got to catch the otters in action and observe their behaviour. Their water activities include swimming and foraging for food. Land activities were rolling in grass or sand, to maintain their slick body type for faster swimming. If you are quiet and observant, you may hear the calls of the adult otters and their pups. Different calls could be trying to snatch a fish, expressing displeasure or to call out for one another. One good example of a call was when the pup was accidentally left behind and the mother called out for the pup (like a bird chirping sound) and managed to find the pup which was a heartening moment. We also got to see the catching of a fish through herding (corner fish to a shallow area to catch) and the fight for a fish (not aggressive, just snatching). In my opinion, I think that otters are just aggressive and protective because they want to protect what they have.

Otters having fun in the sun!!

The role of the otters in nature is so important. They help clear invasive species like catfish released by humans and serve as a bio-indicator of clean water. To us, they have became mascots and a feel-good trigger. As nature lovers, we can do our part to help the otters co-exist with us. Some things we can do is to give them some space in nature, and help stop incoming human traffic to allow otters to cross. We should also leash up pets and not put cameras right near them. On our end, we can fence up fish ponds to prevent otters from eating those fishes. I think that we can co-exist if everyone plays their part.

This was a fruitful trip and I have learnt so much! I would like to thank the guides who made it all possible and for sharing information about otters. I can’t wait for the next trip and thanks for reading 🙂

Last picture of pup and adult otter!