Hi all! Hope everyone is surviving so far.
To recap last week’s blog, the otter population only started increasing in 1998. You might be wondering, what were the reasons for the rise?
Before we look into that, let me clarify something from last week first.
There are two species of otters that are found in Singapore. They are the smooth-coated otters and the small-clawed otters (Hong, 2018). Their biggest difference is that the smooth-coated otters are almost twice as large and are found more frequently compared to the small-clawed otters (Hong, 2018).
Though I loosely used the word otter in my previous blog, I am mostly referring to the smooth-coated otters which are having a revival in their population number.
Ok, back to your regular scheduled program.
So, what happened in Singapore that caused smooth-coated otters from Malaysia to migrate to Singapore? Isn’t it strange that these otters would want to come to a more urbanized country?
1) What was going on in Malaysia.
Well, it turns out, at that time our neighbour, Johor was undergoing a rising number of developments near their shoreline (Khoo,2020). This probably chased off the Malaysian smooth-coated otters from their original habitat to search for a new place to live.
Singapore on the other hand was not developing as much at that time (Khoo,2020).
2) Singapore’s pockets of preserved environments
In addition to that, directly opposite Johor’s coast was the preserved Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve at the west and Pulau Ubin at the east. Khoo (2020) reasoned that it was that this suitable, protected environments that made it attractive for the otters to come to Singapore.
3) Singapore’s clean river
By 1998, Singapore was benefitting from the river clean-up that started in 1977 which allowed Singapore to have the clean rivers and canals that we have today. Xu (2019), Khoo (2020) and Turrell(2020) all attributed the Clean River campaign to be one of the critical factors that resulted in the return of the otters. Singapore managed the cleanliness of the rivers and canal with strict laws and recurring checks and enforcement (Khoo,2020). The resulting clean river was also able to accommodate more aquatic life such as tilapia, increasing the otters’ food supply.
This was further expanded upon on 2006 onwards with the Public’s Utility Board Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters (ABC Waters ) program which you can learn more by clicking on this link.
4) The otters’ ability to adapt in an urban environment.
Last but not least, let’s not forget to give credit to the otters themselves. The otters’ ability to adapt to this new environment also ease their integration back into Singapore waters. This is supported by Khoo (2020) who stated that the otters had to pick up additional skills such as climbing ladders or using holes under constructed dwellings as their dens.
Take a look at this video of an otter climbing up a ladder.
What I find interesting is that the Singapore government was not actually purposely trying to repopulate the otters. It was due to their water policies and their conservation of key environmental areas in Singapore that inadvertently set up a home for the smooth coated-otters.
To conclude, here are the reasons why I believed led to the revival of wild otters’ numbers in Singapore, particularly the smooth-coated otters. Which reason do you think contribute to the most? What other reasons that you can think of that resulted in the rise of the smooth-coated otters? I would love to hear your views on this.
Pictures from Ottercity https://www.facebook.com/ottercity/?ref=page_internal
Hong, J (2018, January 11). Surprising branch in Singapore’s otter family tree. Strait Times.https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/surprising-branch-in-otter-family-tree
Khoo, M.D.Y. & Lee, B.P.Y.-H. (2020, July 23). The urban Smooth-coated otters Lutrogale perspicillata of Singapore: a review of the reason for success. https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/izy.12262?fbclid=IwAR2v_GF8Aj0GLDInk5Zl37vjlpJiUTz78xO5eJicWDZJ6nu1cvoTQhgStfo
Xu, K (2019, March 8). The otter sie of Singapore. Kontinentalist. https://kontinentalist.com/stories/the-otter-side-of-singapore
Turrell, C ( 2020, March 11). Cheeky otters are thriving in Singapore and adapting quickly to big city life. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/03/urban-otters-singapore-wildlife/
Hey Azhari!
Its great to see that Singapore’s river clean up initiative is benefitting our local biodiversity, particularly the otters! I do however, wonder about the potential human-animal conflict that could occur between us and the otters, given that they are highly adapted to our urban environment.
I remember in March, I caught sight of a family of otters in botanic gardens! They were devouring fish in the eco lake and I was curious as to how they were able to get into the park in the first place. A few days later, the otters were gone and (maybe it was just my imagination), the lake seemed quieter than usual. In a way, there wasn’t any conflict in this little episode, but i imagine it could turn into one if it started recurring on a consistent basis. Nparks would probably have to keep sourcing more fish which could be really costly!
FYI:
Here’s an article about the sighting:
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/otters-have-splashing-good-time-with-a-feast-in-fish-ponds-at-botanic-gardens
Hi Joseph!
That is mightly lucky of you to be able to catch a glimpse of the otters! I have not been able to see them as of late. I totally agree with you that there will be conflicts with the otters if their numbers kept rising. I will be looking at the human and wild otter conflict in this week’s blog and I hope what I will write there will help answer your inquiries. Please do look forward to that and thank you for sharing!
Best regards
Azhari
Hi Azhari!
I think it’s very interesting that so many things worked out in the otters’ favour in finding a new home in Singapore. Since you mentioned that it is only the smooth-coated otters who are experiencing this growth in population, does that mean that the small-clawed otters are not thriving? If so, then I suppose the biggest factor contributing to the population growth would be the adaptability of the smooth-coated otters since they seem to be doing well in comparison.
Something else I noticed was that the first reason mentioned is that the undergoing development in Malaysia could have caused the otters to leave, yet when they came to Singapore, Singapore was not undergoing much work but they could adapt to the built-up environment years later? Why do you think the otters didn’t adapt to Malaysia’s urban area but could do so here (ie what is the difference between the two areas)?
Hope to see your reply soon!
~Rayzel
Hi Rayzel!
From the research that I have conducted, most only mentioned about smooth-coated otters only. So, I assume that the revival is most probably exclusive to the smooth-coated otters only whereas the small-clawed otters are still facing a decline. Fun fact: there was news from Strait Times that mentioned that the current otter population could possibly be descendants of both the smooth-coated otters and the small-clawed otters that were native to Singapore You could read more about it using this.link.
For your second question, I think that the otters that migrated to Singapore did not straight away adapt to Singapore’s urban environment but instead relied on Singapore’s pockets of preserved environment such as Sungei Buloh Wetland which remained untouched at the beginning. Then, from there the otters made their way via the canals, drains and rivers to other parts of Singapore and learnt slowly to be more adaptable to the urban environment of Singapore. I guess the difference was that the otters were able to slowly adapt to their new living conditions in Singapore whereas, in Malaysia, their habitat was destroyed too quickly for them to adapt to the new urbanised environment. These are just my thoughts and could be wrong but I think that is what most likely happen. I would like to know your thoughts on that question too.
Regards
Azhari
Hi Azhari!
Wow, it’s so cool that the current otters could be hybrids of the two original species! Regarding the adaptation question, I do agree with your views that they probably stayed mainly in the small, natural spaces. I originally guessed that maybe it was natural selection, where otters who had the ability to find food and living spaces in the urban environment were able to survive and maybe they passed on their favourable alleles to their offspring. However, after reading that article on the inter-breeding of the two species and realising that it’s too short a time period for there to be a significant difference in alleles, I think that your idea makes more sense than mine. So I agree that maybe when otters ventured out of the little pockets of natural environment, they were slowly exposed to the built-up environment and then they got used to it slowly.
Thank you for your reply and I’m looking forward to your next post!
~Rayzel
Hi Azhari! Otters are so adorable! I think the reason about Singapore’s clean river contributes the most since I read online that otters eat quite a lot and our rivers are just the right place! I wonder if there are other animals like otters that are so adaptable to the urban environment.
Recently, a video of an otter eating a koi fish has gone viral. As the otter population increases in Singapore, what other threats could they possibly pose? In addition, this has made me wonder whether Singapore has/ will have any measures to curb the growth of otters?
Have a great week!
Nicole
Hi Nicole!
I think otters are adorable too! I saw the video that you are talking about. I will address the threats that the otters face as well as the issues humans will face too in this week blog! Hope you will stay tuned for that and have a greet recess week ahead!
Best Regards
Azhari