Interesting Facts about the Bishan Otter Family, a Family of Smooth-coated Otters

Today’s hand-crafted Google Doodle honors the original Bishan Otter Family, a family of smooth-coated otters who have captured the hearts of people around the world. Singapore is known for its skyscraping architecture and delicious gastronomy. In a poll by The Straits Times on 7 August 2016, Singaporeans chose the otters to represent the nation on its 51st birthday. The Bishan Otter Family is a group of smooth-coated otters that lives in Marina Bay in Singapore. They are also known as the Bishan 10, and they were once referred to as the Bishan 5. Since they were initially sighted in 2014, the otters have become a popular attraction.

15 Interesting Facts about the Bishan Otter Family

1. At Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, the Bishan otter family was first observed in 2014.
2. The otter family, originally known as the “Bishan 5”, gained national attention in 2015 after the National Parks Board posted images and videos of them on their Facebook page.
3. After driving out a rival otter family from Marina Bay in the same year, the Bishan otter family moved there. After the birth of five additional puppies in 2016, they were dubbed the “Bishan 10”.
4. Singapore has designated the smooth-coated otter as a critically endangered species, and up until 1998, there had been no reports of sightings since the 1970s.
5. The Economist recognized the appearance of the Bishan otter family, along with a number of other otter families, as evidence of the accomplishment of Singapore’s greening policy, which included a considerable improvement in water quality.
6. The otter family was featured in the David Attenborough documentary Wild City, and the Singaporean media routinely reports on their antics.
7. The Straits Times readers voted the Otter family in 2016 over Singlish, the thumbdrive (which a Singaporean company claims to have invented), the Singapore passport, and the Caméra d’Or–winning Singaporean film Ilo Ilo to represent Singapore on her 51st birthday. The French magazine Terre Sauvage has also given them other international press coverage.
8. The Bishan Otter Family rose to fame around the world in 2016 after English broadcaster Sir David Attenborough used their story as the basis for a documentary. Since their discovery, other otter families have appeared around Singapore.
9. Another otter family, called the Marina otter family by the local media, and the Bishan otter family had engaged in numerous fights.
10. After driving the Marina otter family away in 2015, the Bishan otters moved to Marina Bay. A Marina otter pup died as a result of another altercation between the two otter families.
11. On June 11, 2017, by scaring the Bishan otters away with loud noises, members of the public stepped in to save the Marina otters from their enemies.
12. The incident triggered a discussion on the internet about whether humans should intervene in disputes between the two otter families.
13. Researchers from all over the world are now interested in the otters’ capacity to coexist with urban growth.
14. Many attribute the animal’s resurgence in Singapore to the city-state’s anti-pollution and forestry initiatives. These adorable animals are becoming more than simply a symbol of Singapore’s environmental conservation efforts.
15. On August 7, 2023, Google featured a Google Doodle on its homepage to celebrate the Bishan Otter Family.