This rather territorial big bird alerted me to the presence of something in the river when it flew down to the river. On getting closer, I spied the familiar dark brown shape of an otter in the water. Then another head pops up from under water. The Bishan Park otter population has increased. Since I had no camera with me during my walk, I had to walk very quickly home (30 mins) to get my kit.
My first sighting of an otter in Bishan was on 12 September. I shot this photo with my iPhone.
Upon returning to the park, a quick scan of the river proofed fruitless. Similarly, a walk down stream towards Marymount Road also yielded nothing. I returned to the original location and was going to walk up stream along the river when I spotted them in the fresh water pond.
After swimming around in the pond, they decided to come on land to sun themselves.
It was also my best chance to observe and to see if the pair was a male and a female.
Since otters have a habit of behaving like dogs - rolling around on the grass it wasn't long before I could take a couple of shots as the female rolled around on her back.
I left them sunning themselves. Someone else spotted them and place a clip on STOMP. Looked liked they went towards Upp. Thomson Road. The male is familiar with the area and knows his way around.
2 comments:
Hmmm... I thought these are coastal animals. Really surprised that they settle down instead of moving off.
The population has increased possibly due to habitat loss in JB. Otters have been sighted in many parts in Singapore. A pair took residence at Gardens by the Bay and raised five pups there this year. This pair is probably trying to find a suitable area to make their own. Available food source is critical since they do eat a lot of fish.
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