With their adorable antics and playful nature, otters have become Singapore’s unofficial mascot.
But we have also seen how these creatures can fast become ferocious when they sense a threat.
On Sunday (2 Dec), a video of an otter surrounded by 9 dogs in a canal was shared on TikTok.
The otter made a valiant effort, fiercely fighting off the dogs in the attack.
Later in the video, passers-by appeared to throw rocks into the canal to scare the dogs away from the lone otter.
In a TikTok video shared on Sunday (2 Dec), we see a single otter surrounded by a group of stray dogs in a canal.
The dogs barked as they circled the otter, seemingly taking turns to try to nip at it from behind.
Although the odds were stacked against it, the otter tried its hardest to fight the canines off.
Time and again, the otter ferociously lunged at the dogs, letting out a loud squeal while doing so.
Although its efforts appeared to deter the canines for a while, the otter was outnumbered.
At one point, a black dog managed to bite the otter on its tail.
Following this, the otter appeared tired out, choosing to submerge itself in the water and rolled around instead.
Just as the otter’s outlook seemed gloom, a passer-by witnessing the scene from above the canal threw a rock down into the canal, near the dogs.
The large splash startled the dogs, who started to scatter and flee.
But mere seconds later, a couple of the dogs returned to hound the otter. A second rock was thrown in their direction, successfully scaring most of them off.
The TikTok video was later reshared to Facebook groups ROADS.sg and Singapore Wildlife Sightings.
According to ROADS.sg, the otter was fine and managed to escape the dogs.
It is not verifiable if the event occurred in Singapore. However, the canal does bear a resemblance to those found locally.
Similar events have also taken place here. In Nov 2020, a family of otters and a pack of stray dogs were seen having a face-off at Pang Sua Canal in Yew Tee.
The otters won that particular “turf war” in the end.
According to Kontinentalist, although otters typically travel in groups, they might sometimes split up to find food. Male otters can also sometimes wander alone in search of a group.
Otters are also fiercely territorial, defending the waterways they share with other apex predators.
1 otter against 9 wild dogs certainly isn’t a fair fight. The otter has genuinely shown its might by defending itself well.
We’re glad that with the passers-by help, both the dogs and the otter managed to leave unscathed and live to tell the tale.
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Featured image adapted from wxn0103 on TikTok.
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