feral dogs, river dogs, a croc (five actually), 35 redshanks & 2 common sandpipers @ SBWR - 12Aug2018

feral dogs, river dogs, a croc (five actually), 35 redshanks & 2 common sandpipers @ SBWR - 12Aug2018 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

These feral dogs were furiously barking at some unseen target whilst another within their group was swimming towards them after apparently investigating two otters which made a fast sprint past it underwater towards the main bridge. The dogs were sufficiently distracted long enough for the otters to make it away safely without being chased. (Dogs have been seen to chase after and attack otters. Although the otters are in their element in water, they can be cornered on land.)

The unseen element eventually showed itself as it peeked out from the shallows. Although it did not seem like it was of significant length, it was enough to prevent the dogs from going after it. The one that had swum after the otters was lucky to run the gauntlet of crocs in the shallows. Stumpy croc would have been somewhere nearby too.

The two otters had been seen exiting the river earlier in the morning and they must have explored a good part of the North-Western coastline the whole day as they only returned as the sun was setting. They swam to a spot about 20m just before the main bridge to survey the surrounding mudflats no doubt to see if the dogs had followed them. Seeing that it was safe to carry on, the otters swam past the main bridge much to the delight of visitors who had already been treated to observing Tailless and another smaller (but still formidable) croc waiting patiently in the lagoon near the sluice gate by the bridge.

The otters must have been tired as they did not stop to say hello to the two crocs. Instead, they swam straight past the bridge under water and towards the central sandbar in the river before running up the sandbar and crossing it before returning to the safety of the water and disappearing out of sight around the bend away from another set of gnarly teeth in the shallows to the left of the sandbar and watched by the line of common redshanks which had only recently arrived from their Northern summer grounds. (Can you spot the two common sandpipers flying off?).

The dog-croc-otter relationship triangle is a complicated one but Sungei Buloh can certainly do without invasive feral dogs. Let's hope the two otters decide, despite the dogs, that it is safe enough to start a family. Sungei Buloh has not seen any resident otter families for a few years now and this is likely due not because of the crocs but because of the dogs which can track down the otters to their holts which are necessarily above ground.

lone otter @ pasir ris - March 2015

An observation of a smooth-coated otter at the Pasir Ris Mangroves at Sungei Tampines, Singapore on 15 March 2015.

Another frequent visitor to the viewing platform commented that there had been a pair of otters seen regularly the days preceding and was anxiously looking around for the other otter. There was only one for that morning and it swam around the shallower parts of the river bank looking for lunch.

It soon made its way towards the end of the canal where it was quite rocky and caught something rather small, perhaps a small fish, which it despatched quickly. It caught its first meal about four and a half minutes after arriving at the spot.  Within another couple of minutes it managed to catch a larger fish much to the delight of the observing grey herons which were waiting to grab the chunky leftovers as otters are usually messy eaters.

It took its time to munch through this larger fish spending about ten minutes eating the choice parts. Different otters also seem to like starting at different ends. Some choose the heads and some prefer the tails. Otters frequently start at one end of the fish but seldom proceed all the way to the other end. Significant chunks are usually left behind providing an easy meal for other opportunistic scavengers.

It abandoned the rest of the fish and swam across to the far side of the river swimming underwater and briefly surfacing before it went for a long dive and disappeared into the mangrove waters.

lone otter @ pasir ris - March 2015 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Find out more about the smooth-coated otters :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/mammals/perspicillata.htm

otter poop & 7 otters @ SBWR - Jan2015

Animal poop can give away the proximity in time of the animal. If it is moist and smells strongly, then it is more likely that the animal was at the scene not long ago. If the poop is dry or doesn't smell, then it is more likely that the poop is old poop. Fresh otter poop has a distinctively strong pervading smell which quickly attracts flies.

The clip starts with a slowmo bit showing flies set on the otter poop which is mainly fish scales and other fish bits. Sometimes, the poop may show that the otters have been feeding on prawns. Fish scales and prawn shells are passed out making it easy to generally identify what the otters have been eating.

I soon came across the otters. This was a new group of seven and their presence seems to have displaced the residing group of 4 last seen about two weekends ago. Otter families do not apparently get along and the smaller family group of four was likely displaced from the area by the incoming seven. This is despite all the fresh fish within the Nature Reserve.

This group of seven had one otter which stood out from amongst the rest. It had an unsusual dark coat much darker than the rest. Seen third from left at about 00:29 to about 00:39. It head markings were also different in that it had dark cheeks and a dark under-chin as well. Looks like this is a female (i'm guessing because i could not see a male's sexual organs when it stood up). Wonder if we will see dark morph otters in future provided this one survives and has a litter of her own.

otter poop & 7 otters @ SBWR - Jan2015 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

The otters went about rubbing their fur on the ground. This is likely to get rid of excess salt and water on their fur. They do spend a considerable amount of time grooming themselves to ensure that their fur is kept in top condition. After a good rub, they went down into the mangroves likely to look for more fish and prawns.

Find out more about smooth-coated otters, SBWR and otters in general : : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/mammals/perspicillata.htm

https://www.sbwr.org.sg/
https://www.sbwr.org.sg/wetlands/text/99-6-1-10.htm
http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/river_otters.html

lone otter - scratched @ SBWR 30Jan2014

The lone otter showed up again at the SBWR visitor centre pond at about 1.45pm. It swam around in the pond discovering the monitors around and in it putting the monitors on the alert for a nip. The otter was however not in the mood for teasing some monitors. It soon went up to the old sandbox and started rubbing itself on the ground and against the sand box sides. After about 10 minutes of this, it lay still beside the sandbox occasionally opening its eyes when passing visitors entering and leaving the adjacent path made too much noise. The visitors were however oblivious of its prescence until the otter was pointed out to them. The pointing out however encouraged noisy reaction from some visitors. The otter decided to move further towards the rear of the sandbox and caught a few zzzzs...occasionally rousing when the noise level generated by passing visitors bothered it.

Later at about 6.30pm, it was seen around the seawall mound opposite Platform 1. The low tide (about 0.3m) made it easy to catch fish. It caught a fish and quickly crunched into it for a few minutes before swimming around to the western edge of the seawall again diving underwater in the shallows looking for fish. It was watched over by some herons who were also looking out for dinner before the night's roost.

It was fortunate that the otter was at the western edge instead of the eastern edge of the seawall mound as a fisherman had laid a long driftnet from the eastern edge. The givewaway float, a plastic bottle tied to something below the water could be seen at the eastern edge.

*See note below.

The lone otter (very visibly a male) made its way up the seawall mound and rubbed itself against the granite rocks and enjoyed the sunset for a bit. A clear hairline could be seen at back of the neck. It looked as if the otter had been on the receiving end of a barber's razor blade causing it to loose some hair or skin even.

This hairline can be seen in the earlier video clip (from 00:37 - 2:35). It looks like a deep horizontal gash about 5 cm long had somehow been inflicted at the back of the neck.

The otter spent a few minutes on the seawall mound before cautiously walking off the mound. (This seems to be the same otter which was reportedly seen to have injured its left rear leg. This one was also seen to be limping similarly and presumably it was the same injured otter.)

Note :
*(Later at about 7pm, the fisherman was seen passing by in his kayak going westwards across the Northern side of Pulau Buloh presumably to check on another driftnet. Pulau Buloh lies within the area gazetted as a Nature Reserve but the fishermen don't seem to care that their nets pose a danger to animals of the reserve such as otters, crocodiles and shorebirds which may get caught in the nets.)
The driftnets used by these unlicensed fishermen have been documented to have a disastrous effect.
See : http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.sg/2011/07/rip-great-billed-heron-sbwr.html
and http://budak.blogs.com/the_annotated_budak/2008/10/crocked.html
If you do visit SBWR, and notice the fishermen's prescence, do alert the park officers.

lone otter at breakfast @ SBWR 26Jan2014

This lone otter appeared about 4m away from an open sluice gate and looked around for a bit before diving below the water and disappearing. There were some people observing it's cuteness and i was left wondering where it went to. 

otter at breakfast @ SBWR Jan2014 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Guessing that it may have swum into the sluice gate and into the pond behind, a glance proved this to be so as the otter went straight into chasing its breakfast and quickly catching it in the shallows.

It caught a mullet and started crunching into the head. It was a bit cautious as it focused on breakfast and any noise like dry leaves being stepped on caused it to stop and look around.

After finishing the head, it continued with the mullet's tail end. It was definitely a choosy otter and was not starved as it abandoned the torso of the mullet after eating the head and tail. It dive-swam to the corner of the pond before stopping to decide what it would do and then it dived again disappearing in the direction of the sluice gate opening. It did not surface again within sight. 

[at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve - small pond beyond Tower Hide 2C, about 10.30am, Sunday 26Jan2014]

Note : there was an earlier report of an injured lone otter at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. Subsequent observations of that individual told that it was actually injured as it ambulated awkwardly avoiding as best it could to apply pressure on its rear left leg. 

The otter pictured above could be the same otter but there was no oppurtunity to observe how it moved on land as it was always in the water. The pictured otter however seems to have a visible hairline at the back of its head. As if it had somehow had a haircut. Wonder if this was a result of some sort of snare-like entanglement which removed that little bit of hair from the back of its head.(?) 

If you do see an injured otter, please do observe how it moves and let Singapore Otterwatch (via https://www.facebook.com/OtterWatch) or the SBWR staff know how it is coping. The injured otter has been observed to be able to catch fish by itself eating only the head and tail ends whilst abandoning the rest.

These otters seem to like both ends of caught fish and will leave behind the remaining torso of fish. 

What kind of otters are they?
Find out more here : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/mammals/perspicillata.htm
http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/verts/smooth_otter.htm
http://blog.nus.edu.sg/sgotters/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smooth-coated_otter

lone injured otter ? @ off Pulau Buloh - 01Jan2014

This lone otter was seen on 01 Jan2014 at about 10am atop the seawall barrier off Platform 1 Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve by Jeffrey Teo, a regular visitor to the reserve. The period of observation was for about 10 seconds. The otter was harassed by a murder of crows which seemed to be waiting for it to kick the proverbial bucket. It got up and hobbled off the seawall into the water towards Pulau Buloh.

Jeffrey had the previous week seen a family of otters (about 10) at the western edge of Pulau Buloh and was concerned that this otter was by itself surrounded by quite a number of crows. The manner in which the otter got up and hobbled off the seawall barrier also indicated that all was not well with the otter.

From the last photo, it could possibly (?) be that this otter was somehow injured as its rear left leg was pictured rather high as if it did not want to apply pressure to it. It's coat also looks a bit reddish-brown at some spots (but this could be from the otter rubbing itself on the reddish brown soil seen atop the seawall.

If anyone is visiting SBWR over the next few days, please keep a lookout for any injured otter and inform the SBWR staff immediately. Thank you.

Thank you Jeffrey for highlighting this!

Otter @ Changi Creek Mangrove - 17Nov2013

This lone adult otter was spotted cruising up Changi Creek during an evening low tide. It seemed cautious as it swam up the creek occasionally peering around itself. A friend had mentioned that 3 or 4 otters were seen around the creek area about a week or two earlier. The otter dive-swam up the creek and turned into a tributory that led further into the creek. It soon disappeared up the creek. 

Otter @ Changi Creek Mangrove - 17Nov2013 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

The creek has obviously seen better times. There is a lot of trash all over the sides of the mangrove. There was also a driftnet which could be seen along the right edge of the water and the otter can be seen swimming past it. The driftnet was marked by two plastic bottles used as floats tied to each end of the net. Lots of other trash such as plastic bags and other items could be seen on the muddy banks and stuck on the mangrove trees lining the creek.

The creek also supports two groups of squatters who have taken refuge in the creek. One group use the space below the roadbridge on the left (if one stood facing the airport) side of the creek whilst the other choose to nestle in the thicket of trees on the right side of the creek. These squatters can be seen hanging their driftnets to dry on the mangrove trees and for maintenance. 

Needless to say, these squatters pose a real and serious threat to the safety of the otters. When driftnets are strung across the creek, it is possible that a swimming otter could get entangled in the net and drown. There have been incidents of wading animals getting inadvertently caught in driftnets. See Link 1 (Great-Billed Heron), Link 2 (Crocodile), Link 3 (Horsehoe crabs).

I hope the otter or other animals do not get entangled in the driftnets set up by the squatters.

Find out more about the otters :

http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/mammals/perspicillata.htm

http://blog.nus.edu.sg/sgotters/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smooth-coated_otter

http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/verts/smooth_otter.htm

  

smooth-coated otter @ Ubin-OBS 28Sep2013

Was treated to a rare sighting of a lone adult otter at the OBS-Ubin sandy shore adjacent to the the jetty. It nervously trotted up the beach and started to rub its body over the sand cautiously stopping every few seconds to look around. It was on the shore for just under two minutes and trundled back down into the water before disappearing with a dive.  

smooth-coated otter @ Ubin-OBS 28Sep2013 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Find out more about these otters :

http://blog.nus.edu.sg/sgotters/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smooth-coated_otter

http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/verts/smooth_otter.htm

an otteriffic encounter @ serangoon reservoir - 24Mar2013

It was a pleasant surprise for the Otter Trail guides to exclaim that there were otters in the reservoir at that moment when we were there. I had visited the reservoir many times before and had not seen any of the resident otters before. This was a good day then. There were apparently 10 otters in the group. I had managed to count '9' but another count by a biologist NParks officer who was skilled at counting mudskippers said '10'. (The clip below shows does not show the maximum counted all at once.)

It was amazing when the group seemed to disappear altogether under the water without a trace in a blink of an eye. I was left wondering where they had swum to and had to look at the other observers on the bridge to figure out where they were.

The Otter Trail bikers had biked over 15km through the Changi Village Heritage Tree trail and the Pasir Ris Park environs (and seeing unusual and rare birds such as the Oriental-Pied Hornbill, and Spotted-Wood Owl amongst others ) were therefore thrilled at spotting the otters (and a large group of 10 at that).

The Park Connector Network is certainly a welcomed neighbourhood feature which enables everyday people to get a good dose of exercise safely and also appreciate the flora and fauna of the area. What better way to enjoy a morning, afternoon or evening? Have a look here for information about the Northern PCN (http://www.nparks.gov.sg/cms/docs/NERL_Eguide_final.pdf)

These otters have been seen in various parts of the reservoir and surrounding coastal and even in adjacent reservoirs. They seem adept at crossing major roads at great risk to get from one enclosed reservoir to another or to the coast and certainly risk getting run over by the many speeding trucks and other vehicles which ply the roads around the reservoirs.

an otteriffic encounter @ serangoon reservoir - 24Mar2013 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Find out more about Singapore's Smooth-Coated Otter :

http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/mammals/perspicillata.htm

http://blog.nus.edu.sg/sgotters/

http://wetlands.sbwr.org.sg/text/95-2-1-4.htm

http://iyb2010singapore.blogspot.com/2011/09/your-otter-sightings-wanted.html#.UU8CDVuSBdo

http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2010/03/otter-overload-at-sungei-buloh.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD683_pbAO4 - 2 otters encounter a croc at sungei buloh

http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/this_urban_jungle/764752/family_of_otters_make_surprise_visit_at_woodlands_waterfront.html

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF00005663?LI=true#page-1

and here is a link to the iccs otters...

http://coastalcleanup.wordpress.com/category/iccs-otters/

otter makantime II @ SBWR May2011

The resident wild otters at SBWR were out for some breakfast and made their way over to Sungei Billabong Buloh (dunno how Singapore got a 'billabong') which separates Pulau Buloh from the rest of SBWR. 

Platforms 1 and 2 are good vantage points to see the otters in action.

It was a low tide morning and all the fish were concentrated in a much shallower column of water. Schooling fish are already naturally jumpy and are more so when being chased by predatory mouths. 

The otters dived repeatedly looking for their prized fish species.... catfish. They did not seem very interested in the other fish schooling in the upper part of the water column but they seemed to dive to the bottom most of the time with their long tails occasionally showing above the water.

Soon enough, a catfish was found and the otter went about holding it with its hands whilst munching into the tail. Perhaps the otters bite into the tail first to disable the fish in case the fish does try to get away. However, it seems that the otters prefer mainly the tail region and any innards which can be pulled out from the rear of fish. This has been observed on other occasions. 

Strangely, despite there being a good meaty portion of freshly caught catfish left, the otters frequently abandon the fish and move on to look for other fish. They seem to do this over and over and can catch and 'tail' up to 2 or 3 catfish in an equivalent number of hours leaving easy leftovers for anything else that may come by (like the numerous monitor lizards which also inhabit the reserve).

otter makantime I @ SBWR 30Apr2011

This smooth otter was seen in the gallery pool at the SBWR visitor centre carrying what looked like a fish leftovers. It was a bony fish and it must have been rather large. The otter moved with it to the side where it was shallow enough for it to stand on its hind feet (and probably using its tail also as a third leg). It then proceeded to really bite into the bony fish carcass crunching into the bone.

Unfortunately, it looks as if it got a bone stuck in its teeth and it dropped the carcass to try to use its claws to dislodge the bone. Whilst it did so, it was distracted away from the approaching monitor lizards who could obviously smell the fish carcass. It soon dislodged whatever was causing it discomfort, looked around the murky green water for the fish and grabbed it before any lizard got to it. It then swam away with its catch to another part of the pool.

Otters@Sg.Buloh 15Jan2011

Here's and 8-minute clip on the wild Smooth-Coated Otters of Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve.

The 2 otters were spotted swimming near the middle of Sg Buloh Besar and they had stopped briefly around a sunken tree stump before swimming submerged towards the central bridge occasionally coming up for air. Fish in the water scattered as the otters approached and some could be seen jumping out of the water to escape becoming lunch.

The otters swam under the bridge towards what seems to be a frequently used landing point on the near embankment. They then proceeded up the embankment towards the sand box overlooking a freshwater pond near the visitor centre's exhibition hall.

The otters then began a serious session of 'scratch that-itch' which lasted for about 25 mins before settling down for a late morning snooze.



Otters 15Jan2011(mobile) from BeachBum on Vimeo.



Otters 15Jan2011(HD) from BeachBum on Vimeo.


Here is Ria's blog post about the otter sighting :
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2011/01/otters-at-sungei-buloh-and-mangrove.html

Read more about the otters here :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/mammals/perspicillata.htm

Otter at Semakau!

Had heard of reports of there being an otter sighted in the Semakau mangroves some months ago and had also seen what looked like otter footprints on the beach but had never seen other signs of it.

Fortunately, a recent visitor (YYJ) to Semakau was lucky enough to not only see the otter but she manage to take a picture of it carrying off it's dinner of a snake!



This could mean that Semakau's mangroves and seagrass lagoon are indeed capable of sustaining larger mammals and hopefully eventually a resident family of otters.

However, perhaps there should be a formal restriction on long nets used by visiting fishermen especially in the seagrass lagoon and areas surrounding Semakau. This would help ensure that the otter does not end up being entangled in the nets which are often left abandoned or discarded irresponsibly.

other sightings of an otter at Semakau :-
http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/news/index.php?entry=/education/20051203-public_semakau.txt
http://www.wildsingapore.com/news/20070506/070511-2.htm
http://www.wildsingapore.com.sg/wildfilms/blog/archive/2006_04_01_wildfilms_archive.html