Otters strike again: All of Katong family's pet koi killed

A family was devastated after they found all their pet koi killed on Friday (March 17).

Stomp contributor David shared with Stomp photos of his dead fish with some of their heads missing.

He said he believes his home in Katong was raided by a romp of otters on Thursday night or Friday morning.

"This happened at a time when everyone was asleep," he said.

"The marauding band would have likely intruded my home through the gate grills or climbed over the compound wall.

"They attacked and killed all eight of my pet koi, biting off their heads and leaving their carcasses floating in the pond or scattered by the side.

"The sickening part is that they did not raid the pond because they were hungry for food!

"It appeared that they were just having fun, toying around with the defenceless, helpless fish before killing them.

"This has been a heartbreaking disaster for my family and me as the koi were family pets, raised from 6cm to 35cm over the last few years."

David added that the attack was unexpected as his house lies in a 'dense residential area'.

"It is well and good to talk about biodiversity and coexisting with wildlife but in our tiny little red dot where land is a premium, the authorities must take firmer and more effective actions to control the growing population of wildlife and restrict them from intruding into heavily populated residential areas and attacking pets and God forbid, young children.

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"Close encounters between intruding wildlife and humans could lead to an undesired outcome."

Earlier this month, Stomp reported on a similar incident in which otters had attacked and killed 30 koi at Serangoon Gardens.

The National Parks Board (NParks) said that it is actively monitoring otter numbers with the Otter Working Group (OWG), which comprises representatives from government agencies, academia and the community.

Based on their findings, the otter population is limited by the resources available, like space and food, and further kept in check by the otters' territorial nature, which may cause occasional conflicts between groups. 

As such, the otter population will not grow indefinitely and can be regulated naturally without active intervention.

In an advisory, NParks shared how to prevent otters from entering residential compounds and eating residents' fish.

This article was first published in Stomp. Permission required for reproduction.