Family of Otters Found Trespassing at Airport

A family of otters running around on a tarmac at a Singapore airport were guided to safety Tuesday by workers.

According to the Straits Times, the surveillance system at Singapore Changi Airport, detected a family of otters Tuesday morning running around near a stationary Singapore Airlines plane.

Airport officials sent out an Airside Safety team who found the otters and helped guide them safely towards Changi Beach. There were no flight disruptions reported due to the wild animals making their way onto the tarmac.

“Besides regular wildlife patrols, a surveillance system is in place to prevent and detect foreign object debris, including wildlife,” a Changi Airport spokesperson said in a statement. “Safety is a top priority at Changi Airport – should any wildlife be detected on the runway, flight operations will be halted temporarily so that the safety team can attend to the situation immediately.”

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The spokesperson went on to say otter sightings at the facility are very rare.

Otters at Changi Airport pic.twitter.com/iW7GeVSQT5

— Mothership.sg (@MothershipSG) November 14, 2017

National University of Singapore senior lecturer N Sivasothi revealed this is the first time he has heard of otters being spotted at Changi Airport. He said the animals were likely looking for new areas to “to hunt for food, rest, sleep and breed.”

Sivasothi went on to say airports need to have a wildlife hazard management plan in place to prevent wildlife from entering the facility and putting themselves in danger.

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