Two otter pups that were found stranded in Changi have been reunited with their family.

Otter watchers had embarked on a daily search mission for the past seven days to seek out the missing family.

Stranded pups

In response to Mothership, co-lead of ACRES, Kalai Vanan Balakrishnan, shared that the Otter Working Group was notified of the stranded otters on Apr. 22.

He said that the pups were transferred to ACRES for care while they discussed subsequent steps to take.

Local otter watch group Ottercity documented the search-and-reunion mission in a series of Facebook posts.

According to the post, NParks, and Changi Airport Group staff scoured the coastline daily to look for their missing family.

Ottercity believed they were separated from an unknown group consisting of two adults and three pups.

It was imperative to reunite them with their family as soon as possible, lest the family rejects the pups after remaining apart for too long.

During the search, the search team encountered other otter families such as the Pasir Ris one and ruled them out as the target family was expected to comprise two adults and one pup.

The search operation was made more challenging due to the mangroves, sandflies, hot sun, and limited access.

Otterwatchers from Pasir Ris, Punggol, and East Coast worked together to search the area every day but each night, they were met with disappointing news that the family was not located yet.

Reunion

One Evan Landy sent a message last evening (Apr. 30), alerting the search team to two adult otters spotted at Changi.

The message sparked a flurry of action as everyone rushed down to make a reunion happen.

Otter watchers at the scene caught sight of four otters instead of two.

Amongst the four, a pair did not fit the profile of the family they were looking for as the female had no visible teats, which she was expected to have while nursing three pups.

The loud squeaks lured the two target adult otters to emerge and reveal a pup in between them, allowing the search team to identify them as the missing family.

At 8:30pm, the two pups were released and the mother otter picked them up and left together, marking the long-awaited family reunion.

Ottercity announced that the whole family was observed to be swimming together this morning (May 1).

Kalai also conveyed ACRES' gratitude to volunteers from the otter watching community for spending time to look for the missing family and to NParks for coordinating this effort.

If you see a wild animal in distress, you can call the ACRES wildlife rescue hotline at 9783 7782.

Staycation at ACRES

Prior to their reunion with their missing family, ACRES looked after the pups for a week.

ACRES converted their existing enclosure to suit otters, integrating an artificial holt and small pond to simulate a natural environment.

Their weights and appetites were monitored and were cared for by only two people to avoid any imprinting due to the social nature of otters.

Top images by Ottercity.