(updated 15/04/2025) 3 – 4 March & 1-2 April 2025 : Singapore on the way to and back from New Zealand

Updated 15/04/2025 – This covers all our time in Singapore looking for wildlife in the city limits , as well as enjoying the city itself

3 -4 March 2025 : On our way to New Zealand South Island we had two days lay over in the Singapore and so decided to try and see the Singapore City Otters while we took in the sites.

There are 4 families of Otters in Singapore, ranging in pack sizes from 6 to 25 depending on season, and we were hoping to see any of them, The problem is that they all have big territories and you just can’t guarentee seeing any at all for long periods of time. The first day there we visited the Gardens by the bay, an area on the marina that two families often go to, but sadly we didn’t see anything. Its a fantastic place but just not for otters !

On our second day we were up early and took the metro to the Botanical Gardens, and within 10 minutes we fell lucky. We walked through the gates and spotted a commotion in the trees by one of the lakes, it turned out to be a monkey but I was too slow to catch it on my camera, direct below the tree was a Monitor Lizard, and While I was taking its photo I spotted movement on the far bank of the lake.

To my utter joy is was the Zouk family of Otters, 6 in total , ,mucking about on the grass. The quickly entered the lake and spent the next hour following the Gardners about, who were on the lake in boats removing weed. Such a joy to see so many Otters in one place, as we walked around the lake, the male came ashore once again with a female, and then took to guarding the rest of the clan while they fished.

So lucky to have witnessed this, and it really set my up for the long trip ahead to South Island in New Zealand. We used the last night here to visit the Gardens by the Bay, and look around the Super Tree structures and the park itself, an amazing place and even better when the night came and they lit them up to music and lasers.

1-2 April On our way back from New Zealand we had another two nights and one full day in Singapore, we were tired and it was very hot so we didn’t expect to see too much. With this in mind we decided to have a boat tour around the waterways in the city itself. A fantastic trip through the central business district seeing all of the sights on offer. As we were going under a bridge right by the city parliament buildings and central bank we heard the distinctive squeaking sounds of Otters !

Unbelievably we had stumbled upon a second of the three Otter packs that roam the city, having already seen one in the Botanical garden we couldn’t believe our luck. Sadly we only had our mobile phones so no great photos but still it was such a joy to see a pack of 7 or 8 Otters happily running about on the walkway next to one of the busiest roads in the city. Once we left the boat tour we walked back to where we had spotted the Otters but by that time they had fled the scene. The excitement wasn’t over as while we were looking for the Otters high above we saw a Sea Eagle circling right over the city centre ! what place , so busy and urban but still with wildlife to be found.