http://www.otter.org/audioSamples/AsianSmallClawedOtter.mp3. “Otters of the World.” Discover Wildlife. It is a mammal, often spotted in our mangroves, mudflats and coastal areas, where it forages for clams, fish, and other small creatures. In other incidents, a video showed a group charging into the lobby of a children´s hospital before being shooed away, and the creatures were also filmed frolicking in the empty streets outside a popular shopping centre. https://cdn-images.kontinentalist.com/kontinentalist-story-asset-1551411308.mp3. They are really cute," said Pam Wong, a 35-year-old Singaporean. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong weighed in on the debate Friday, posting a photo he took of otters before the lockdown on his Facebook account. Still, otter experts believe the anger is an overreaction and that the creatures are likely just enjoying the extra freedom to venture to new places. The case sparked a debate about whether more should be done to stop otters rampaging through the city, with a widely discussed letter in a local newspaper calling for air horns and rubber bullets to be used as deterrents. Two otter species occur in Singapore. Smooth-coated ones grow up to 1.2m long and 11kg in weight. Critically, the fish species that otters rely on as sources of food need to thrive in Singapore’s waterways for the otters to remain. Population Structure, Distribution, and Habitat Use of Smooth-Coated Otters Lutrogale perspicillata in Singapore . Asian Small Clawed Otter Sound Clip, International Otter Survival Fund. Singapore. Mp3. With the streets empty, the creatures have been spotted hanging out by a shopping centre, scampering through the lobby of a hospital and even feasting on pricey fish stolen from a pond. http://www.otter.org/Public/AboutOtters_OtterSpecies.aspx. Accessed January 14, 2019. “Observations of the Variation in Group Structure of Two Urban Smooth-Coated Otter Lutrogale Perspicillata Groups in the Central Watershed of Singapore.” ResearchGate. image caption There are two species of otter native to Singapore; the Bishan 10 are smooth-coated otters image copyright Rebecca Bailey image caption In … There are four species of river otters in Asia: the smooth-coated otter, small-clawed otter, hairy-nosed otter, and Eurasian otter. Only 40 to 60 remain – the main problem is loss of habitat and food with many of its food species also endangered. Otter enthusiasts have also set up their own Facebook pages, such as Ottercity, to spot and track their movements. Accessed March 1, 2019. While Singapore is home to two species of otters — the smooth-coated otter and the small-clawed otter — only the former is popularly known and spotted across the island. The Wild Animals and Birds Act (WABA) protects wildlife, but the law requires evidence of the act, which can make things difficult when preventive action is required. People are excited to see them especially in the urban jungle where sightings of wild animals are rare. There are two species of otters currently present here. But their newfound freedoms appear to have emboldened the otters, and they are now facing a backlash. Group Bull. In-depth stories about Asia and more delivered straight to your inbox every month. Their diet consists of fish, frogs, crabs, turtles etc. Teo, Jeffrey. When the animals first reappeared in Singapore’s waterways, they were so unknown to most that “people thought that they could be beavers or seals,” says Sivasothi, who launched the website OtterWatch to help educate … http://www.otterspecialistgroup.org/Bulletin/Volume35/Vol35_Iss3_Index.html?fbclid=IwAR3ym9QO54h5_T3-kFltGZo0NhDFg-SDN82abyznrNRFXbc9tELFllIhYbY. Meanwhile, zoologist Chan Yik Khan said without historic data, it is hard to tell what led to … Khoo, M de Yuan and Sivasothi, N (2018)b. Local scientist Meryl Theng who contributed to an international. Because of this, many otter species have suffered population declines throughout the world. IUCN Otter Spec. India, Bangladesh, and the Philippines have submitted proposals for a ban on the international trade of Asian small-clawed otters and smooth-coated otters. While many think of tiny Singapore as a densely populated concrete jungle, it is also relatively green for a busy Asian city, and has patches of rainforest, fairly clean waterways and abundant wildlife. Today, a population of at least 60 hybrid otters exists in Singapore. Hybridisation of smooth-coated otter males with Asian small-clawed otter females occurred in Singapore. The rise of citizen science has also created an even wider pool of data on otter observations and documentation of species behaviour, with groups like the Otter Working Group actively helping in the management and rescue of otters. October 19, 2020, 05:57 PM JJ Lin hosting YouTube live with celebrity friends on … Though education alone is not enough to change behaviours around our wildlife, several impassioned otter watchers have been volunteering their services to help new otter watchers stay mindful of their subjects—a heartening gesture. This file photo shows members of a wild otter family called "Bishan10" in Singapore's Kallang Basin area. For otters to continue thriving, they require adequate space to feed in, reproduce, dry their fur, and rest. The smooth-coated otters were residents in the Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve in 1998, and the small-clawed otters have been around Pulau Tekong since the 1980s. The otters´ more frequent forays onto the streets of Singapore are part of a global trend triggered by virus lockdowns, with animals increasingly slipping cover to explore the streets of some of the world´s biggest cities. (Oriental Small-clawed Otter). Actress-turned-entrepreneur Jazreel Low, who owns the spa, posted pictures on Facebook of fish parts scattered around the pond and lamented a "massacre". The current WABA review is addressing this. Singapore has 2 species of otters, the Smooth-coated Otter and the very elusive Asian Small-clawed Otter. The most high-profile incident was a raid on a pond at a spa shuttered due to the pandemic. https://www.bfm.my/dr-philip-johns-smooth-coated-otters-singapore.html. "I simply don´t understand anyone who could not like them. Human–animal conflicts are common in urban spaces, but these can often be prevented with further awareness and education on appreciating Singapore’s native wildlife without threatening or encroaching on their territory. “BFM: The Business Radio Station - Citizen Science and the Case Study of Smooth-Coated Otters in Singapore.” Accessed January 4, 2019. International Otter Survival Fund.” Accessed March 1, 2019. “IUCN/SSC Otter Specialist Group Bulletin Volume 35 Issue 3 (2018).” Accessed January 14, 2019. There is scant information on the sea otter, which is only found in the coastal waters of northern Japan. Accessed March 4, 2019. “Ottercity Facebook Page.” Ottercity Facebook Home. (Oriental Small-clawed Otter). In Sentosa Cove, a luxury district in an island off Singapore’s southern coast, residents have found the otters a problem. Otters need space to rest and sleep, and especially to dry their fur off after a hunting swim—this helps them maintain the waterproofing ability of their fur before they return to the water again. Sea otters are the exception, giving birth in … Otters eat about 15 to 25 percent of their body weight each day. Most have not been sighted in typical otter habitats—often the wilder plots of nature in the country. Smooth-coated otters are not fussy eaters, and they tend to eat whatever is available where they are. Take a walk on the wild side in Singapore, and you will find that one of the most adaptable immigrant wildlife species has made the island’s waterway systems its home, booming in number over the years. Smooth-Coated Otters in Singapore Sound Recording by Philip Johns. IUCN Otter Spec. With local communities, the group monitors otter populations and movement in Singapore to resolve issues and protect the species. Distribution of the otter families in Singapore (Data source: Khoo, M de Yuan and Sivasothi, N (2018)b.