Otters devour koi after sneaking into Bedok temple and factories
When he returned to work after the long weekend on Oct 25, a Bedok factory owner was shocked to find his collection of 20 koi fish at his workplace dead.
The man, 54, surnamed Zheng, told Shin Min Daily News that he saw the headless fish carcasses next to his pond when he entered the premises at Senang Crescent.
He then checked his CCTV footage and found that the place had been invaded by four otters that entered through the factory's iron gate at around 3am on Deepavali (Oct 24).
Describing the situation as "distressing", Zheng, who reared his fish for over a year, said he found it strange that the creatures knew there were fish in the factory compound.
He wasn't the only one in the area whose koi had been attacked – a fellow factory owner on the same street, who goes by the surname Cai, was affected too.
According to Zheng, Cai’s CCTV footage revealed that six otters had invaded his property and eaten six out of the 15 fish in his pond – also on Deepavali.
Since the incident, Cai has covered his pond to prevent another otter attack.
Some of the fish at the nearby Soon San Teng Temple weren't spared either.
The person in charge of the century-old establishment told Shin Min that dozens of his three- and four-month-old koi were eaten by the otters.
"I've been here for decades and this is the first time I've encountered something like this," he said.
Otter invasions are becoming increasingly common in Singapore.
In October, otters wiped out koi worth over $20,000 in a Bukit Timah home.
NParks have suggested that owners mesh up gaps and erect other "otter-proof" barriers to protect their homes from otter invasions.
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