They first came to national attention when they appeared at the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park. Now, Singapore’s otter family, who is also frequently spotted in Marina Bay, has been chosen by Singaporeans to represent the country on its 51st birthday.
You guys were picked to be Singapore’s 51st icon. You must be Singapore’s most well-loved family!
We’re so proud and honoured! Our friends overseas are always surprised to hear of how well we’re doing here. It’s so rare to find smooth-coated otters living in such an urbanised city, let alone getting along so well with the locals. It was nice to hear that Singapore loves us as much as we love Singapore!
How are you enjoying being a celebrity family?
It can get quite overwhelming. I’m not really sure why we get so much attention, we’re really quite a normal family! Me and the missus dropped our pups off on their first day at Saint Andrews Junior College last year. By the time we got home, videos of us at the school had gone viral online!
We’re very aware that the attention might get to our kids’ heads, and they might start taking things for granted. We always remind them how lucky we are to be living in such a wonderful city and that Singapore has given us so much. We try to give back when we can.
Tell us how you give back.
We’re huge advocates of keeping the waterways clean. They’re our home after all! We’ve recently stepped up our advocacy work by making more public appearances, and I’m proud to say Singapore’s waterways are becoming cleaner.
One of our pups, Ottie, has just been made the new mascot of Project Blue WaVe, an environmental conservation project by the People’s Association. He’s volunteering his adorable looks and influence for this… that’s considered skills-based volunteering, right?
Singaporeans love to eat. What’s your favourite dish here?
We eat only fish from the local waterways. Our favourite fishing spot is at Bishan-Ang-Mo-Kio Park. We also love Sentosa, where we go for special occasions. We recently splurged on the ornamental koi carp there. It cost us a whopping $80,000, but it was so worth it!
We want to build a #CityofGood. Do you think Singapore is on the right track?
Definitely. Recently, one of my young pups had a fishing hook caught close to his right eye. Try as we might, none of us could remove it. Luckily, thanks to a tip-off from a member of the public, wildlife rescue group ACRES managed to find us and remove it for him.
If not for ACRES and Singapore, our pup wouldn’t have survived. We’re very grateful and want to pay it forward. Our family is helping themraise funds for a new rescue van so that they can help rescue other wild animals.
The Straits Times had published a list of 50 objects that represented aspects of Singapore’s history in 2013. In 2016, the paper invited readers to vote for what they thought should be the 51st object in an online poll and the otters came out tops.
The photos featured in this article are contributed by wildlife photographer Dennis Ong, who hopes to create awareness of the beauty of the natural world, and encourage more people to appreciate and protect our wildlife.
