This delightful creature is more common that we might imagine. Smooth otters are often sighted in our mangroves, mudflats and coastal areas. Such as at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Pasir Ris, Pulau Ubin as well as Changi. In Singapore, they are also reported from the Western Catchment Area. It was previously known as Lutra erspicillata. According to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, the first record of the Smooth otter was of a male, collected in 1938 from Lazarus Island. The second otter sighting was recorded at Sungei Buloh in 1990. According to Davison, the local population may not be strictly resident as they travel easily between Johor and Singapore across the Johor Straits.
Its head and body is 75cm long and its tail is 45cm long. It has short limbs with webbed 'fingers' and prominent claws.
Smooth otters are generally social and live in pairs or family groups of parents and their young. They are active both during the day and at night. It eats mainly fish, but also turtles, crustaceans and clams and snails. Babies are born in a litter of 1-2, in a den dun in the river bank. The young stay with the parents in a family group for some time. The Smooth otter is listed as 'Critically Endangered' in the Red List of threatened animals of Singapore.

The Smooth-coated Otter is listed as a vulnerable species. The range and
population of smooth-coated otters is shrinking due to loss of wetland habitat,
poaching, and contamination of waterways. Smooth-coated otters are protected
in India under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and are listed as endangered.

Smooth Otters are the largest otters in Southeast Asia. They are named for their shorter, smoother coats which appears velvety and shining. Like other otters, they have shorter tightly packed underfur and longer guard hairs which are water repellant.
Unlike seals, which are insulated by a thick layer of fat, otters are very lean and it is their fur that keeps them warm, and provides a streamlined surface. Smooth Otters are distinguished from other otters by their rounder heads with prominent naked noses, and more flattened tails.
Smooth Otters like to eat fish but they eat whatever is plentiful and easy to catch. Their prey includes crustaceans, frogs, water rats, turtles and even large birds. They may hunt as a family group, using teamwork to catch their prey. A group usually have a feeding territory of 7-12 sq. km and they hunt both during the day and at night.
Smooth Otters are mostly found in the lowlands, in mangroves, freshwater wetlands, large forested rivers. Although adapted for water, Smooth Otters are equally comfortable on land and can travel long distances overland in search of suitable habitats. They may shelter for a while in shallow burrows, piles of rocks or driftwood. Some may build a permanent burrow near water, with an underwater entrance, but the tunnel eventually leads to a chamber above the highwater line.
Smooth Otters form strong monogamous pairs. Although the male is larger, it is the female that dominates the group. In areas with good weather and food supply, they breed year round. The gestation period is 63-65 days. Smooth Otters give birth to and raise their young in a burrow or shelter near water. Usually 1-2 cubs are born in a litter. Cubs are born blind and helpless, and develop slowly. They only open their eyes at 1 month, and start to swim at 2 months. They continue to suckle for 3-4 months and only leave the family at about 1 year old. They reach breeding age at 2-3 years. Unlike other River Otters where the female raises the young alone and excludes the male, Smooth Otters form small family groups of a mated pair with up to 4 offspring from previous seasons.
Smooth-coated otters occur throughout much of southern Asia, in the Indomalaya ecozone, from India eastward. There is also an isolated population of the species found in the marshes of Iraq. Smooth-coated otters are found in areas where water is plentiful- peat swamp forests, freshwater wetlands, large forested rivers, lakes, and rice paddies. Smooth-coated otters have adapted to life in an aqueous biome, but are nonetheless comfortable on land, and may travel long distances overland in search of suitable habitat. Their holts are within shallow burrows, rock heaps or driftwood piles. Some may construct permanent holts near water, in a layout similar to that of a beaver dam, with an underwater entrance and a tunnel that leads to a nest above the water.

The contamination of waterways in SBWR may have result in the Smooth otter being endangered in Singapore.

Given Singapore's limited water resources, it is critical that water pollution and quality are carefully monitored and regulated. The responsibility for this belongs to the National Environment Agency (NEA), which regulates water pollution and quality in Singapore's sewerage system, as well as inland water bodies and coastal areas. The control of soil pollution is also an important aspect in this regard, given that pollutants in the soil are likely to make their way into the water system as run-off or groundwater. Soil pollution control in Singapore primarily focuses on the use of approved pesticides to combat termites in soil.

The water quality of both inland water bodies and coastal areas is regularly monitored. For inland water bodies, the parameters monitored include pH, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, ammonia and sulphide. Coastal water samples are analysed for metals, total organic carbon, and other physical, chemical and bacteriological parameters. August 2010

Currently, the public sewerage system serves all industrial estates and almost all residential premises in Singapore. All wastewater is required to be discharged into the public sewerage system. The provision, operation and maintenance of Singapore's sewerage system are governed by the Sewerage and Drainage Act (SDA). The treatment and discharge of industrial wastewater into public sewers are regulated by the SDA and the Sewerage and Drainage (Trade Effluent) Regulations. The sewerage Act and Regulations are administered by PUB.
The discharge of wastewater into open drains, canals and rivers is regulated by the Environmental Protection and Management Act (EPMA) and the Environmental Protection and Management (Trade Effluent) Regulations. The EPMA and its Regulations are administered by PCD.
Industrial wastewater must be treated to specified standards before being discharged into a sewer or watercourse (if the public sewer is not available). Additionally, industries generating large quantities of acidic effluent are required to install a pH monitoring and shut-off control system to prevent the discharge of acidic effluent into the public sewer. Industries may apply to PUB for permission to discharge their trade effluent containing biodegradable pollutants, as determined by their biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended solids (TSS) loading exceeding the allowable standards, directly into the public sewers on payment of a tariff.