The injured otter pup, who was spotted at Pasir Ris Park canal last month with a deep wound on its back, has been successfully rescued, treated, and released to its family. The five-hour operation — the first of its kind for a wild otter in Singapore — took place on Thursday, reported The Straits Times.
Planning for the operation spanned three weeks with input from authorities and volunteer groups including the National Parks Board (NParks), Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres), the Public Utilities Board (PUB), and the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA).
The nine-month-old female pup, named Aquarius, was closely monitored along with its family before it was captured for treatment, the head of OtterWatch told Channel NewsAsia. After multiple tries to rescue the wounded pup, the otter and some of its family members were finally rounded up in a fence-like enclosure specially built by NParks at 2pm in Pasir Ris Park.
A WRS vet tranquilized the pup, and it went drowsy in seconds. When it was safe to approach it, the enclosure’s gates were opened for the rest of the family to dart off.
In less than 15 minutes, the team of WRS vets cut the rubber ring that was cutting into the otter’s body and abdominal muscle before applying antibiotics to the wound.
It’s unclear how the ring got stuck around Aquarius, but the animal was observed while it rested. It was released back into the wild after being certified healthy.
Watch how the operation went down below.
Today, the OtterWatch Facebook page posted an update on Aquarius, who was spotted with her family at 8am happily burrowing about in the sand.
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