It’s not rare for residents in Singapore to spot otters frolicking near bodies of water.
From time to time, however, these creatures have been seen in more urbanised areas — such was the case for one otter pup who found itself stranded on a ledge at Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP).
Source: Facebook
Officers from the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) eventually arrived at the scene and guided it to safety.
On Wednesday (17 Jan), a netizen posted a video of the distressed otter pup in the Singapore Wildlife Sightings Facebook group.
The video shows the otter stranded on a raised platform outside Lien Ying Chow Library at NP.
The otter could be seen circling on the platform while yelping, as if in distress.
Source: Facebook
It also attempted to jump to a raised ledge but to no avail.
Source: Facebook
In the comments, the OP said it’s possible the paw marks on the higher ledge could be an indication that the pup had been stuck there for hours.
Source: Facebook
Kalai Vanan Balakrishnan — an ACRES spokesperson — said the organisation was alerted to the incident on Wednesday (17 Jan) morning.
According to the spokesperson, a family of otters had ventured onto the “roof area” at the school’s library.
Two of the pups found then themselves stranded after climbing onto the lower platform.
However, one of the otters somehow managed to escape from the ledge and rejoin their family.
As for the stranded pup, ACRES officers decided to deploy a “gentler approach” as they did not want to cause extra stress to the otter.
There was also a potential that the animal could fall and hurt itself.
Image courtesy of Ngee Ann Polytechnic
“We placed pet carriers on the platform allowing the pup to have a ‘step’ to climb on to get away,” said Mr Balakrishnan.
Image courtesy of Ngee Ann Polytechnic
ACRES officers continued guiding the pup until it reached the ground floor.
Mr Kalai noted that NP is surrounded by green spaces as well as canals and drain networks.
He also pointed out that the family of otters could be attracted to the ponds and vast spaces within NP.
Back in 2021, two lost otter pups were reunited with their family thanks to the help of human rescuers.
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Featured image adapted from Facebook and courtesy of Ngee Ann Polytechnic
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