Hi everyone! Welcome back!
Last week, I took a look at the struggles the otters face in Singapore due to humans. This week, I want to look at the issues us ‘human’s’ face from the otters and the general attitude we have towards the otters.
From what I observed, Singaporeans generally love the otters.
We love them so much that in 2016, the top voted national icon of Singapore in 2016 was the famous Bishan otter family (Khoo & Lee, 2020).
To double confirm this statistic, I put up my very own survey with 71 of my peers who are mostly teenagers and young adults aged 17- 25.
In the survey, I found that more than half of them generally like the otters. The rest were neutral. None indicated that they hated them.
There are even otter ‘fan pages’ made by otter enthusiast on Facebook: Ottercityand Otterwatch. They regularly post pictures and videos of the otters and their antics for the general public. Such groups put the otters in a positive light, making us love our resident otters even more.
It could also be said that the Singapore government value these otters. Otters are protected from unlawful capturing and slaughtering under the Wild Animal and Birds Act (Xu, 2019).
However, not everyone in Singapore shares this sentiment. Some residents have voiced out their concerns with the increasing population of otters. The unhappiness by these people can be summarised in this article. To summarise this article, Ong( 2020) argued that otters have no place in an urban environment and should only stay in wild areas, citing the two concerns that I stated below.
Otters can cause physical injuries.
One example is the case in late 2017, where a young girl was bitten on the foot by an otter (Tan, 2017). Some people might forget that otters are omnivores, feeding on both plants as well as other animals such as fishes (White, 2004).
As you can see from the pictures above, otters have rather sharp teeth which can cause one painful bite
Otters eat our pet fishes and businesses ornamental fishes.
There are many examples of this. In 2015, there were cases of otters entering the properties of people and businesses residing in Sentosa and eating their expensive fishes(Turrell, 2020).
Generally, I disagree with Ong as I believe it is manageable to solve the issues faced by humans from the humans-otters conflict in Singapore. Thankfully, I am not the only one that feels that way. Ms Jazreel Low had this to say even after otters had come to prey on her fishes.
“But whatever it is, we need to find a way to live with them(the otters). Killing them is the easiest way, but I don’t think it’s the right way out. Coexisting with them might be more difficult, but we just need to learn how to do it.” (Lee, 2020)
What do you think about what Ong mentioned? Next week, I will look into possible solutions to maintain a peaceful coexistence with the otters.
References
All pictures are from Ottercity who has given me permission to use their images
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
Ong, Junkai (2020, May 17). Forum: Time to rein Singapore’s otter population .Strait Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/forum-time-to-rein-in-singapores-otter-population
Tan, Sue-Ann (2017,December 30) Girl, 5, bitten by otter at Garden by the Bay; observers advise that the animals be watched from a distance. Strait Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/girl-5-bitten-by-otter-at-gardens-by-the-bay-observers-advise-that-the-animals-be-watched
White, Timothy (2004) Lutrogale perspicillata smooth coated otters Animal Diversity Web. https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Lutrogale_perspicillata/
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/
Lee, Wei Lin ( 2020, October, 4) Former Actress Jazreel Low Doesn’t Want The Otters That Ate Over 100 Of Her Fishes, To Be Culled; Says It’s “Not The Right Way Out” .Todayonline. https://www.todayonline.com/8days/sceneandheard/celebrities/former-actress-jazreel-low-doesnt-want-otters-ate-over-100-her
Hi Azhari, I really like otters in Singapore and it’s nice to see you covering this in your blog! Looking at the survey you conducted, it seems that the youth in Singapore are generally receptive of the otters. Do you think the older generations would be as accepting of the otters as well? It would be important to reach out to a large demographic when it comes to discussing how we can peacefully coexist with the otters. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Hi Sarah- Ann! Thank you for your comment! Otters were voted to be most iconic national symbol of Singapore for 2016. So, I do believe that even the older generation of Singapore are receptive of the otters. I will try to expand my scope for future surveys to include the older generation and maybe even the children to provide a more holistic scope. Thank you for pointing this out and I will try to do better next time!
Regards
Azhari
Dear Azhari
Hi, Wen Han here! A really interesting blog that speaks my mind. I am definitely with you on your stance that otters shouldn’t be shunned or eliminated from our environment, simply because they have the right to co-exist in the ecosystem. Without direct reference to anyone in particular, I feel that the sentiments to get rid of any species (in this case) arise due to anthropocentricity. We need to learn to co-exist with other species, as the complete annihilation of a species will disrupt both the natural food webs and ecosystem, which can lead to serious outcomes. Furthermore, the critically endangered otters are protected under the WABA (Wild Animals and Birds Act), and we should be conserving them too, don’t you think;)
Hi Wen Han! Thank you for your comment! The concept of anthropocentricity did not even cross my mind when I was doing my research! I do agree that we as humans do have an unconscious attitude of anthropocentricity which affect our views on other life forms as we believe our lives are more significant than theirs. Thank you so much for bringing it up and if I have the chance, I would try to incorporate this in one of my blogs.
Hi Azhari!
Thank you for sharing your findings on general attitudes towards our native otters, it’s encouraging to know that no one harbours ill feelings towards them! :”) You mentioned that someone in the forum felt that Singapore’s otters have no place in the urban environment and should only stay in wild areas. This reminded me of the many similar comments I’ve heard, mostly from older friends or family. I do hope more Singaporean adults “love” the otters instead of “hating” them however, since your study showed that of younger Singaporeans.
In response to those comments, my counterargument would always be: Singapore’s land use has changed drastically over the years only because we settled in – Singapore used to provide wild natural habitats for the otters (and other wildlife), until the drastic changes caused the otters to leave (and return only recently). Thus, I agree with you – we should all learn to coexist with them, which I believe we have been doing well for a while now!
– Hope 🙂
Hi Hope! Thank you for your insights! I totally agree with you! Singapore should be for all Singaporeans, not just the human Singaporeans.
Hi Azhari! 🙂
This was an interesting read, not gonna lie I thought that otters were mostly harmless so I’m quite surprised to hear about the biting incident. I don’t entirely agree with Ong’s point that otters should be confined to wild areas but I can understand where he is coming from. If otters continue to wreak havoc on prized fishes this could spur people to take matters into their own hands and harm the otters. It seems like the otters are drawn to enter privately-owned ponds because of the fishes available in there, but in your opinion, why do you think the otters prefer to eat these fishes when they can find wild fish more easily and conveniently in rivers?
Hi Christabel!
I think they are drawn to these ponds as they are far easier prey to catch as these fishes are confined to a very small area. However, I read that sometimes these otters do not hunt the fishes in privately-owned ponds for food. There are cases where the otters only bit off the heads of the fishes but left the rest of the body. I assume, it might be because they were using the ponds to train their young pups to hunt maybe ? I am unsure about these cases but it is definitely easier to hunt in a pond than in a river.
Regards
Azhari
Hi Azhari, it is quite deceptive how the media has us believe otters are purely cute and docile creatures just based on their appearance alone. I was reading this essay written by Heeeun Monica Kim on Otters and Singapore in the book “Eating Chilli Crabs in the Anthroposcene” which talks about how this deceptively cute perception we have for them has led them to be more protected in Singapore. More conservation efforts are put in to conserve the species and more funds are pumped into guarding them as compared to other threatened species like the Raffles Banded Lemur.
I was wondering what are your thoughts on this?
Hi Chuan
Thank you for your comment. I agree with your sentiment and I might touch on this on my week 11 blog. Dunn (2000) mentioned that humans’ feelings and perception of the animals are very important in determining whether an animal is preferably conserved.Hence, there will be a bias of conservation towards animals that are more good looking or animals that invoke positive feelings for humans. Sadly, this is a reality BUT I feel we can tackle this issue by improving the education of the less good looking animals and how they too are important or sometimes even more important. Although empathy and perception contribute to which animals are conserved, knowledge of the animals is also an important factor. If we improve on this component, it could help the animal conservasation.
-Regards Azhari