An otter pup has been successfully rounded up and treated in a five-hour operation on Thursday, Nov. 16.

It belongs to the Pasir Ris family. It is believed to be eight to nine months old.

The operation was carried out at Pasir Ris beach.

The attempt to capture the otter, coined "Operation Free Aquarius", lasted for five hours.

The pup was caught at the river mouth near Sungei Tampines. The operation started at noon.

Photo courtesy of OtterWatch

Photo courtesy of OtterWatch

Photo courtesy of OtterWatch

Volunteers and related agencies tracked the otters for the past three weeks.

More than 20 people were involved in the rescue and treatment of the otter pup. They were from the Wildlife Reserves Singapore and NParks.

A special structure to catch the otters was built by NParks for this operation.

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The operation is the first of its kind in Singapore.

Photo courtesy of OtterWatch

Photo courtesy of OtterWatch

Photo courtesy of OtterWatch

Photo courtesy of OtterWatch

Photo courtesy of OtterWatch

Previous attempts were made to capture the injured pup but were unsuccessful.

The Pasir Ris family has 11 otters.

Seven of them were caught in this operation. The injured pup was tranquilised and treated on the spot. The rest were released.

The wire wrapped around its body turned out to be made of rubber.

The otter pup was subsequently released to its family.

Photo courtesy of OtterWatch

Photo courtesy of OtterWatch

Top photo courtesy of OtterWatch