You otter see this...

Few people know it, but the Sungei Buloh Nature Park has new surprise inhabitants - a shy family of four otters. And those who have spotted them feel like they have struck the lottery.

By Ginnie Teo

IT WAS a curious sight: The fish in a pond at the Sungei Buloh Nature Park were jumping up and down, thrashing about in the water.

Geologist Nick Baker, a park volunteer, wondered why.

Then, he saw it - a little brown body with small beady eyes in the murky waters.

Mr Baker, 44, said: 'My pulse rate increased as the otter swam towards me. I tried to hide. Then, right before my very eyes, two adult otters ventured out onto the mudflats, followed closely by two of their excited offspring.'

The family spent a few minutes scrabbling in the mud, he said.

'I think they were looking for breakfast. I was able to take a few, hasty shots of them with my trusty 15-year-old Minolta. It was an amazing experience.'

Mr Baker is a very lucky man. He had experienced an extremely rare sighting of a family of otters at the nature reserve in Kranji.

For the past three years, staff members have been keeping their eyes peeled for the family of four, who have made the 87-ha park their home.

A pair wandered into the park more than three years ago and, after a period of time, two cubs were spied swimming around the swamps and playing on the mud banks.

Miss Linda Goh, acting senior manager of the National Parks Board, said: 'They belong to the smooth otter species. We suspect they came from Malaysia. We're glad they've chosen Sungei Buloh as their home.'

Mr N. Sivasothi, a researcher at the Raffles Museum at the National University of Singapore, believes that Singapore, once again, has resident otters.

He said: 'A long time ago, when Singapore's habitat was very different, there were otters here. But they disappeared and, since the 1960s, we've recorded sightings of only solitary otters.

'It's significant that Sungei Buloh has a family of them there now. Nature watchers around the world think this is a remarkable feat in an urbanised country.'

Some people have likened the otter spottings to Loch Ness monster sightings. Only staff members of the park and people who visit the place regularly have seen them. Miss Goh said: 'Spotting them is like striking the lottery!'

Each time a staffer sees one, he radios the rest of the park officers on his walkie-talkie, she said. 'Everyone stops work immediately and rushes out to have a look.'

She added: 'It's very hard to spot them. They are free-roaming animals, and they move around the park a lot.'

She herself has seen the animals three times in the last two years.

Someone else just as lucky is National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, who was on a personal visit when he spotted an otter on a bund.

Getting a good photograph of them is even more difficult. A Straits Times team staked out the park for two full days, but all it managed to spot were birds and crustaceans.

If you make your way to Sungei Buloh hoping to catch a glimpse of them, but do not get to do so, enjoy the rest of the park, which is a treat in itself with its rich variety of mangrove wildlife.

The site of mangroves, mudflats, ponds and secondary forest, the park is a rare oasis of tranquility with many unique plants and animals, such as the Sacred Lotus and the Lesser Whistling Duck.

In 1989, the place was recognised for its ecological importance and the area was developed into a nature park. It was opened officially in 1993.

You can walk along its mangrove boardwalk, which was ready only a year ago. Covering a distance of 500 m, the raised wooden walkway allows you to take a close look at the mangroves without getting your feet wet.

When the tide rolls in, numerous tree-climbing crabs scuttle up the mangroves to avoid the water.

When the tide is out, many curious creatures are exposed. Hundreds of mudskippers of varying sizes fight for space with crustaceans.

You can also stop at the many observation hides which overlook colonies of herons, without being seen by them.

This is one of the best places in Singapore to see birds like plovers, sandpipers and bitterns during the migratory season between August and March.

And if you are really lucky, you might just come face to face with the otters.

GETTING THERE

TO GET to the Sungei Buloh Nature Park, take the Bukit Timah Expressway, turn off at the Turf Club and follow the road signs to the park.

Those using public transport can take Tibs service 925 from the Kranji MRT station. Alight at the stop at Kranji Reservoir carpark, then walk 15 minutes to the park.

On Sundays, the bus stops at the park's entrance.

Admission to the park is $1 for adults and 50 cents for children, students and senior citizens.