It's been some time since we've talked to you about our friendly otters, who have for some time now been living more or less harmoniously alongside us.

Regrettably, this otter story isn't a very happy one.

One of the moms in the Punggol Marina otter family was in early March spotted with a hook sticking out of her face:

As you can see, it was sticking out near her left eyelid, but thankfully, its presence didn't appear to affect her eating or activity.

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And indeed, the Wolverine-like mom was seen again, all dandy, when she was seen again about a week ago:

However, that also means the hook remains in the water, and could certainly endanger other wildlife.

Here's the post from OtterWatch:

Fish hooks: a perennial threat to wildlife

Of course, you'd know that this is far from the first time an otter was seen with a fishing hook stuck in its body. 

This pup even had a hook lodged into a similar location to the mom above:

While this other incident happened to another mom:

And these hooks don't just afflict otters either.

Earlier this year, an Asiatic soft-shelled turtle, likely from Seletar Reservoir, was found with a fish hook stuck in its throat.

This story, regrettably, does not end well.

Despite having the fish hook removed by an Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Singapore) vet, the turtle died from her injuries:

Intervene only when necessary

You might be wondering, at this point, why the people who spotted the otter mom didn't try to remove the hook for her.

The reason is even if you do spot an injured otter, intervening to help it isn't exactly a straightforward affair.

For one thing, it's extremely difficult to isolate an otter from its romp. Even if you were successful in doing so, separating one otter from its family is of course an extremely stressful affair -- not only for the injured otter, but for the rest of its family too.

Interventions are only taken when necessary and after extensive observation and deliberate planning.

If you recall Operation Free Aquarius last November, it took three weeks of just tracking and observing before volunteers set up a special structure to trap the injured otter pup in order to treat and release it.

Top photo edited from photo by Marjorie

Practical knowledge for everyone:

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