Otter spotted with raffia string wound around neck at Robertson Quay

Oh no.

Alfie Kwa | August 12, 2023, 06:30 PM

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An otter in Singapore was recently photographed with a raffia string around its neck.

The photo was posted on Reddit on Aug. 7.

Spotted at Robertson Quay

The Redditor, orcsab, spotted what he believed was the Zouk family of otters at Robertson Quay at 8am on Monday (Aug. 7).

He told Yahoo Singapore that they were about 20 metres from Alkaff Bridge, on the steps of a ferry stop.

He also mentioned that there were a few couples looking at them and noted their squeaking drew attention.

The Redditor reached out to Acres, sending over the picture of the otters as well as the time and date when they were spotted.

Acres told him that they would monitor the situation if the otter's mobility was not affected, reported Yahoo Singapore.

One Redditor commented that the otter didn't appear to be in distress.

"Trying to catch or trap it would cause more trauma than needed since the animal isn't being harmed yet," they said.

Another said, "Youch, just looking at it, I can feel pain."

Mothership has reached out to orcsab and Acres for more details.

Issue of littering

This isn't the first time an animal in Singapore has been spotted with plastic around their neck.

Last year, a monitor lizard with a cable tie around its neck was spotted at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

Otters were also spotted on occasion getting tangled in plastic trash bags.

The issue stems from animals being able to access human litter that are not properly disposed.

NParks advises the public to dispose of their litter at designated bins in Singapore's green spaces so that the wildlife will not get tangled in them or ingest them.

Members of the public who witness animals in distress can call the NParks Animal Response Centre at 1800-4761600.

Other otter stories

Top photo via orcsab/Reddit