As my colleague Tay and I were heading back to our office, we saw ranger Bill who excitedly told us that a family of Smooth Otters were swimming in one of the ponds.

Tay and I immediately set up our photography gear and headed to the “main hide”.

It was the afternoon of 10 February 2006, the weather was fair and the tide was low. From the “Main Hide” we saw the smooth otters happily playing on the bund that separated the ponds.

It was spectacular as much as it was entertaining to see them running around each other, intermittently rubbing their bodies on the sand, marking out their territories with their scent and occasionally standing up on their hind legs to catch a glimpse of us.

The family consisted of six members - two adults (parent) and four pups. From our previous encounters with the family, we saw that the parents often taught the pups how to fish.

They would also play with the pups, and in the process, strengthened the bond within the group. This time we saw them teaching the pups how to mark the territory with the scent that is produced from a pair of scent glands at the base of their tail.

The various encounters we had as well as the fact that the otters are reproducing showed that Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is a natural habitat with abundant food for them. Let us continue to keep the reserve a safe and conducive habitat for them.