A man received unpleasant news on Sunday morning (June 26) from his helper, who told him that all of his prized goldfish had been killed by otters.
Unfortunately, the otters may have had ample opportunity to carry out their attack on the goldfish in the absence of the dog of the owner, Mr Lim, as his bulldog had died just a week ago. His rare ryukin goldfish cost $100 per fish, which means his losses amount to around $5000.
Mr Lim resides at Gerald Drive in Hougang, Shin Min Daily News reported. It was Mr Lim’s helper who made the discovery of the attack on the goldfish.
When she was cleaning his yard at around 7 o’clock on Sunday morning, she noticed the disarray in the fish pond.
Mr Lim told Shin Min Daily News that the helper said many of the fish were floating on the water’s surface, and just a few were struggling to say alive.
The helper at once went inside the house to tell Mr Lim about her discovery.
“She saw the goldfish floating on the water and only one or two of them were still alive. She came into the house to alert me.
I believe the otters came in the middle of the night, we were all sleeping so we didn’t hear anything,” he said.
Mr Lim also told the Chinese-language publication that it was not the first time that otters had entered his property to attack the goldfish sometime before, which is why he not only placed safety nets on his gate to prevent them from entering but also raised their height as an extra precaution from unwanted otter visitors.
But the otters, which are likely to have come from Sungei Punggol, may have got through the net by biting holes into them.
And when Mr Lim’s bulldog was alive, it had been able to prevent an otter invasion simply by barking at the small animals.
“There are always seven or eight otters along the road at night, the bulldog would bark at them.
If not for the bulldog, the goldfish wouldn’t have survived the last time,” he said, adding, ”I don’t know how to get compensation for this, I’m not sure if the authorities will do anything to resolve the issue.”
This is not the first time this year that such an otter attack has happened.
In March, otters raided a pond on the grounds of a home in Seletar Hills, killing the fish that the family had long taken care of. /TISG
Koi spotted in S’pore canal; sparks worry that it will be otters’ next meal