This is the moment two of Singapore’s best-known otter families clashed in a bitter territorial dispute.
In a video of the war, the two families, the Bishan otters and the Marina otters, can be seen squealing in anger as they charge towards each other in the calm waters of Singapore’s Kallang Basin.
The two families clash in the water before the conflict reaches the muddy banks of the inner-city basin.
As the two families brutally attack each other, the Marina family is seen separating and withdrawing from the Bishan family.
The otter families screamed in rage as they charged at each other in the calm waters of Singapore’s Kallang Basin
The two families clash in the water before the conflict reaches the muddy banks of the inner-city basin
It was reported that subsequent footage showed the Bishan otters pursuing their rivals on land
The Straits Times reported that subsequent footage showed the Bishan otters pursuing their rivals on land.
The 2018 footage reportedly showed only a snippet of the hour-long turf war between the two otter families, which have been at loggerheads for several years.
The Bishan family, known locally as Bishan Ten, originally lived in Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park but moved a few miles south to Marina Bay in 2015, where they displaced the Marina otter family.
Since then, they have fought several times, with a fight in 2017 resulting in the death of one of the Marina family’s otter pups.
Biology lecturer N. Sivasothi, who leads the OtterWatch group that tracks otter activity in Singapore, told The Straits Times that physical contact rarely occurs during otter fights.
“Physical contact occurs when one family is much stronger than the other, there is very strong motivation to drive away another group, or when repeated encounters lead to extreme actions.”
Otters are territorial carnivores and must control large enough areas to support their families
In 2016, Straits Times readers voted the Bishan otters to represent Singapore on the country’s 51st birthday
The Bishan family, known locally as Bishan Ten, originally lived in Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park but moved a few miles south to Marina Bay in 2015
“In the footage, the marina otters escape without making contact – they must have assessed the likelihood and aborted.”
Otters are territorial carnivores and need to control large enough areas to support their families, Mr. Sivasothi said.
“There are limits to the number of animals in each area, such as food and space.” “Weaker individuals are killed or displaced into poorer habitats that cannot support large families,” he added.
“Attempts at intervention are ultimately futile as environmental constraints force these wildlife collisions.”
Despite the feud, the vibrancy of the otter families is a point of pride for Singaporeans, reflecting the success of the city-state’s efforts to improve its water quality.
In 2016, Straits Times readers chose the Bishan Otters to represent Singapore on the country’s 51st birthday, beating out “Singlish”, the name for the mix of English, Chinese and Malay spoken in Singapore, the Singapore passport and the USB flash drive supposedly invented by a Singaporean company.