Just Otters

This is a super overdued entry, but decided to post it anyway, since it was a really exciting experience for me. Went to Sungei Buloh in March with Peiting and Jiayi, and we were really lucky that the Smooth Otters (Lutrogale perpicillata) decided to stay around the Visitor Centre area for like 4 hours!


We first spotted 3 otters as they were swimming down stream towards the main bridge.


After playing in Sungei Buloh Besar for a while, they went to a nearby disused prawn farm for breakfast. One of them caught a fish rather quickly, and we were really lucky that it decided to eat the fish near the trail.


It was startled by an egret which landed quite close to it.


It decided to swim nearer to the edge of the pond to continue its meal.


It was partially blocked by some vegetation though, and I tried to move around to get a better shot of it.


Ahh...


Um....


Soon, the entire head of the fish was gone...


Then half of it... The otter ate really fast...


Eventually, only the tail was left, and it quickly finished it too.

The otters hunted and fed in the pond for more than an hour.


After the meal, it was time for a nap!


They rolled about for a while, and one of them got a little restless and decided to do a bit of scratching.


Another otter soon joined them, and they decided to head into the freshwater pond for some fun!


But before the fun started, it was always good to do a bit of cleaning up.


And tossed the head to get a wild-looking "hairstyle" to prepare for the show.


And then, round 1 began!


There were lots of slapping and pushing...


And biting as well...


But sometimes, the fight turned a little "romantic"...


Until a third party decided to join in...

All in all, it was great fun for them, I think, and at the same time, great photo opportunities for us nature-lovers who were fortunate enough to witness this scene!