Otters are known to visit Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (SBWR). To be exact, they are called Smooth Otters (Lutra/Lutrogale perspicillata). They are the largest otters in Southeast Asia. I will not be surprised it they have become permanent residents of SBWR. They are extremely good, agile swimmers and always a pleasure to watch whether they are foraging for food, playing and well in this case, taking an afternoon nap.
Make no mistakes, these are wild creatures. Their instinct will tell them to flee if they felt threatened or are in danger. You can imagine the satisfaction and happiness I felt when I managed to make my way towards them. In another words, they actually accepted my presence and were comfortable enough to continue with their daily activities. The short time I was with them, they seemed more wary of noise make by visitors who talked loudly then my sound of my shutter. This is way cool if you ask me. I was armed with a Nikon 300mm VR, Nikon D3, 1.4X and 1.7X tele-converters (used interchangeably) attached to a tripod. I managed to observe some interesting behaviour too! Heres my story.
I saw some otters from a distance. They had found themselves a place to dry their bodies and rest. Using a tree between us to block my profile, I slowly approached them. When they were not looking, I moved to in front of the tree and stood down with the gears in front of me. One of the Smooth Otters noted my presence and gave out a growl as warning signal to the other otters. I remained very still, hiding my face behind the camera and peeping through the view finder only when I felt the coast was clear. Initially I was unable to have a clear shot as grasses were blocking my lens. Using duck walk and taking care not to step on the grasses planted by SBWR staff, I adjust myself to a position so that I could photograph the otters without being totally blocked. You could see the otters were looking at me, most likely accessing if I am a threat.
(to be continue)
Make no mistakes, these are wild creatures. Their instinct will tell them to flee if they felt threatened or are in danger. You can imagine the satisfaction and happiness I felt when I managed to make my way towards them. In another words, they actually accepted my presence and were comfortable enough to continue with their daily activities. The short time I was with them, they seemed more wary of noise make by visitors who talked loudly then my sound of my shutter. This is way cool if you ask me. I was armed with a Nikon 300mm VR, Nikon D3, 1.4X and 1.7X tele-converters (used interchangeably) attached to a tripod. I managed to observe some interesting behaviour too! Heres my story.
I saw some otters from a distance. They had found themselves a place to dry their bodies and rest. Using a tree between us to block my profile, I slowly approached them. When they were not looking, I moved to in front of the tree and stood down with the gears in front of me. One of the Smooth Otters noted my presence and gave out a growl as warning signal to the other otters. I remained very still, hiding my face behind the camera and peeping through the view finder only when I felt the coast was clear. Initially I was unable to have a clear shot as grasses were blocking my lens. Using duck walk and taking care not to step on the grasses planted by SBWR staff, I adjust myself to a position so that I could photograph the otters without being totally blocked. You could see the otters were looking at me, most likely accessing if I am a threat.
(to be continue)
