Yet another day in the urban jungle that is Singapore.
All was not peaceful in the otter world, with two families — the Bishan and Marina families to be specific — on the cusp of a turf war.
Charging through the waters
Capturing the chaotic sight on Jan. 26 was one Koh Ke Han.
Koh told Mothership that at around 9am that day, he spotted the Marina otter family making their way down Kallang River near Potong Pasir.
Photo by Koh Ke Han
Here they are frolicking on the grass.
Video from Koh Ke Han
All was good until they noticed another family of otters at the other end of the river.
Koh initially thought the otters were part of the Marina family, but it turned out that they were from a rival pack, the Bishan family.
Sparks flew, or rather, waters splashed, and clearly not in a romantic way -- which is to literally "pia zui" ("pour water" meaning "gang fight") in Hokkien.
Both otter families started charging towards each other.
Here's the Bishan family swiftly coursing through the waters.
Koh observed that the Bishan otters appeared "more aggressive and it also seemed that they had more members".
Video from Koh Ke Han
From the videos Koh posted online, it appeared as if the bigger group of otters was trying to intimidate the rivals.
The Bishan otters were heard emitting ferocious squeaks, almost like a gang chant.
Marina otters retreated
Koh said the Marina family was chased around in the water before being cornered and retreated into a sewage pipe.
The Bishan otters could be seen crowding around the entrance of the pipe, perhaps to intimidate the Marina otters even more.
Photo by Koh Ke Han
Koh added that he heard some pained-sounding squeals from inside the pipe, and speculated that the Bishan otters could have let loose some nips and bites.
Video from Koh Ke Han
Photo by Koh Ke Han
The Bishan otters eventually left the scene of fight, apparently unscathed.
The Marina otters did not reemerge from the pipe, which led Koh to believe that they managed to escape via the sewer system.
The entire turf war lasted around 10 to 15 minutes.
The Bishan and Marina otters have had a long-standing feud since 2015.
The rivalry started when the Bishan otters left their home ground at Bishan Park and ventured to Marina Bay, the prime territory of the Marina otters.
Top photo by Koh Ke Han