Otters in Singapore are well-loved.

They run around the Central Business District mingling with human life, enter various places of interest, and have been held up as the stark juxtaposition of wildlife and urban living co-existing as one.

But there are also tensions.

Otters kill pet koi fishes

A recent Sep. 27 post by Bird Ecology Study Group showed how a group of six otters in Singapore decimated seven pet koi fishes belonging to a household here.

The otters effectively beheaded the fishes and feasted on them.

Adding insult to injury, the otters appeared to have only feasted on the koi heads, while leaving the rest of the fleshy fish bodies almost intact.

A video provided by the household affected showed the otters entering a gated home and hunting in an enclosed pond.

The footage and blog post was contributed by a person residing in Singapore.

The post said:

“Today our koi (Cyprinus rubrofuscus koi) pond was attacked by 6 marauding Smooth Otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) which decimated our koi population.

It was heart wrenching to see our koi, which were raised by my helper for the last 15 years, beheaded and savaged by these supposedly cute creatures (above).

Granted otters are wild animals and need to hunt, but I feel the otter population is getting out of control . These otters are now preying on private fishponds and dining on expensive koi, far easier prey than having to look for a few skinny fish in the rivers, canals or the sea.”

Otters are territorial wild animals

Lest we forget, otters are wild animals with a propensity for violence in a bid for self-preservation.

They engage in acts of intimidation and group fights, and there have been many recorded instances of otters feasting on expensive pet fishes in Singapore, and even entering premium-living homes in Sentosa.