British man bitten 26 times by otters thought he was going to die
A British man who was bitten 26 times by otters “thought he was going to die” during the attack.
Graham George Spencer was walking through the Singapore Botanic Gardens early on November 30 when a group (or ‘gang’) of roughly 20 otters “went crazy” and began biting his ankles, legs, and buttocks. Spencer’s friend, who he was walking with, scared the animals away by screaming at them, and the pair then went to the visitors centre for help.
Spencer believes the otters were scared by a passing jogger who may not have seen them as it was still dark. Spencer said, "Because it was very dark, he never saw them. And he just ran straight into them. And he was treading on them.” As the jogger continued and Spencer passed the group of otters, which included mothers with their pups, they “went crazy” and attacked him.
Spencer was given bandages by guards and later went to the hospital, where he required stitches and was given tetanus shots and oral antibiotics. He was discharged later that day.
A spokesperson for the Botanic Gardens told The Straits Times that “volunteers and staff monitor the movements of the otters” and “educate the public on the importance of observing them from a distance and not interacting with them.”
A handful of Otters started appearing in Singapore's waters couple years back. Today there are Otter gang wars.#Tiredearth pic.twitter.com/vArGjsK2uV
— Rebecca Herbert (@RebeccaH2030) September 28, 2021
The group director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, Dr Tan Puay Yok, said that the National Parks Board that manages the gardens advises visitors to observe otters from a safe distance, and avoid feeding or approaching them, especially “when there are pups as the adults can be protective over their young”.
Otters are native to Singapore but the population virtually disappeared as a result of major development in the 1960s and 1970s destroying their native habitats and polluting the waterways. They returned in the 1990s after the government cleaned up the rivers.
Image: Cameron Rutt