And even if their numbers grow further, there are ways to manage the population in such a manner that they will not require culling, National University of Singapore biological scientist N Sivasothion Wednesday where a visitor to Singapore Botanic Gardens was bitten by a group of otters, which led to calls by some on social media for the creatures to be culled.
Mr Sivasothi said social media has played a part in over-stating their presence in Singapore, and has amplified negative news about them.Attitudes to otters are quite varied. Reactions to such incidents have generally run the gamut from amusement to more drastic calls to rein in the otter population. Several readers of Wednesday’s article posted comments that the animals are starting to become a nuisance.However, Mr Sivasothi said it is not as though there are thousands of otters in Singapore.
Mr Sivasothi credits the population increase to the success of Singapore’s greening efforts that have provided an ideal environment for otters — particularly smooth-coated otters, to thrive. “Being a city in nature requires having people address at all levels. There are people who like butterflies, but not caterpillars, so how?
Limiting the resources for otters in turn helps control their population, thus removing the need for culling, Mr Sivasothi said. Dr Loo said NParks has been collaborating with the Otter Working Group to monitor the animals regularly to preempt or mitigate conflict where possible.
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