A lone otter pup was seen trapped on a ledge at Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) in the early hours of Jan. 17.

It was later rescued by the wildlife rescue team from Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres).

Stuck on ledge

An NP student, Bryan Aw Jie Xiang, posted a video of the sighting on the Facebook group Singapore Wildlife Sightings.

He had been on his way to school when a friend and fellow student, Eugene Tan, texted him about the lost otter outside the entrance of Lien Ying Chow Library.

When he reached the library at around 8:40am, it was still there.

The otter pup was squeaking loudly and repeatedly attempted to hop back up the ledge, but failed to do so.

It also appeared to have been there for a while, as the ledge and wall were covered in paw marks.

Otter saved

Aw said he was later told by another friend that officers had come to relocate the lost otter.

Acres co-CEO Kalai Vanan confirmed that the officers belonged to their wildlife rescue team.

They had received a call about a family of distressed otters that morning, Kalai said.

"Apparently, they had ventured onto the roof area at the school’s library and two of the otter pups got stranded after they climbed down to this platform.

Unable to climb back up to join the family, the pups and adults got frantic."

The Acres team advised the polytechnic staff to monitor the situation from a distance.

But while one of the pups eventually managed to climb back up, the other pup was left stranded.

Instead of physically capturing the animal, which could be stressful for the pup and cause it to hurt itself, the Acres team "adopted a gentler approach to guide the pup out", Kalai explained.

The team placed a pet carrier on the platform, allowing the pup to have a "step" to climb up and over the ledge.

The pup was then guided back to the ground level, where it could subsequently reunite with its family.

Green spaces nearby

Kalai told Mothership that Ngee Ann Polytechnic sits in an area with green spaces nearby and a number of canals.

In addition, it is located in close proximity to Clementi Forest and the Botanic Gardens.

"This could be a family passing through when they got attracted to the large area within the polytechnic which also has ponds," he said.

Members of the public who witness animals in distress can call the NParks Animal Response Centre at 1800-4761600 or the Acres 24-hour wildlife rescue hotline at 9783 7782.

Top image from Bryan Aw