What started as a stroll in the park turned into a chaotic scene for Lu Xiufeng, who witnessed six to seven otters chasing a woman jogging.
At one point, some of the otters changed direction and began running towards Ms Lu and her children at West Coast Park on Friday (July 22).
Ms Lu initially found traces of the otters near the public toilet area, and they began taking photos happily, reported Sin Chew Daily.
Moments later, she heard a woman screaming as six to seven otters chased her. One to two minutes passed, and the otters caught up with the woman.
It was reported that some of the otters began running in Ms Lu’s direction, causing them to step out of the way.
Although there were about 10 others in the vicinity, nobody dared to help the woman as the otters’ sharp teeth are “no joke,” said Ms Lu.
The elderly wouldn’t be able to run away, she added. The otters eventually went back into the woods, said Ms Lu, who believes that the jogger might have stepped on a baby otter, sparking a chase by the protective adult otters.
This is not the first time that otters chased a jogger, resulting in injuries.
A man named Mr Spencer was in the Botanic Gardens when another man running at the park crossed the path of an otter pack.
Spooked at the sudden movement, the otters set their eyes on the cause of the obstruction.
Unfortunately, Mr Spencer was at the wrong place at the wrong time as the otters mistook him for the jogger who managed to dodge the pack.
The otters sank their teeth into Mr Spencer 26 times within seconds, leaving him to think he was going to die.
Local otter photography page Myottermelon responded to the news, urging the public to take caution when approaching otters.
“The otters were having a relaxing family bonding time rolling on the dried leaves when all of a sudden, a fast-moving, big-sized potential predator dashed towards the family,” the page noted.
“When we are observing and photographing otters, we would advise people to keep a distance and ask runners to slow down and wait for the otters to move away or make a detour if possible,” it added. /TISG