One of the thrills of running in the Singapore Botanic Gardens is the number of critters one might encounter. Through the years, it has been our joy to chance upon our resident family of Smooth-Coated Otters.
To watch them romp & play, or marvel at how they continue to nap despite the number of excited passer-bys, or gape at them devouring the dwindling koi in the ponds is to nudge against a world not quite ours. To share moments in time & space with these marvellous creatures is a balm for the spirit.
Amanda & Sandy, while they are not quite what we think of as sea creatures, I hope you will find them an acceptable inclusion in Friendly Friday Photos: Seas Creatures as their habitats do include waterways, fresh as well as oceanic.
All things bright and beautiful 
Otters are some of my favorite critters. I was lucky enough to see a sea otter when I backpacked the lost coast. It was one of the best days of the trip! Lucky for you to frequently see theses guys 💕
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They are quite rather adorable & amusing! Although I am always surprised by how large these are in proximity. I grew up watching them on documentaries & they always looked so small and cute.
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I also saw a raft of them when a friend of mine and I went sea kayaking in Alaska in the Beardslee Islands! I have not posted about that on this blog, but will some time soon. I didn’t get any snaps of them because I was in the kayak. It was INCREDIBLE.
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Yes please! I look forward to your post!
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Also wanted to ask you where the lost coast is. Do you have a post out on your trip (then I can go hunt it down)?
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Ah! The Lost Coast is in Northern California! I did a small post on it – the sea otter has a fish in it’s mouth :-). https://i-choosethis.com/2019/09/29/lens-artists-65-pick-a-place-lost-coast-of-california/
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Thanks for the link, Pam – popping over to read it.
And yes! it is indeed a fish the lil dude is crunching on. The Ranger told me that they only eat the head – go figure! maybe because the fish brain is nutrient rich!
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Ohh, that makes total sense. Thanks for reading!
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I love to watch otters. Although, I have read that they (like our native chipmunks) look cute but are in reality mean little hooligans. 😉
Deb
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Warning taken, Deb! I have generally given them a wide berth (well, maybe just close enough to get a shot or two in) as they are still wild animals.
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Ju-Lyn, these look adorable but I see perhaps not as innocent as they look from the comment above. How lovely there are animals in the botanical gardens! 😀
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It is quite fun and sometimes frightful, especially when I am running at night to the sparse light of lampposts – just to have a critter run across the road under my feet!
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These critters are so absolutely adorable, aren’t they? One cannot help but love them. Of course they are acceptable to the Friendly Friday Photo Challenge, as you are totally free to interpret the challenge prompt how you see fit. There are no rules around the interpretation! The pingback didn’t work for some reason, (good old wordpress glitches), but I am glad I found your post, as I would not have wanted to miss out on seeing these cuties. Lucky to have the family in your zoo and watch them progress. Incidentaly are the cages air condtioned? I thought they were naturally more prevalent in colder climates?
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Actually, this family is not in our zoo, but in the Botanic Gardens next to where I live. And they roam free.
I believe these are native to our region.
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I did not know that orders were native to your region full stop that’s so cool and even cooler that they’re allowed to roam free and can coexist happily with people. Awesome!
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