Cambodia News, Siem Reap Province: The public on social media was very excited to see photos of a band of otters who did not seem to be at all afraid of the tourists while they took snapshots of the cute creatures. Images, including a 1 minute video, of the five animals were captured as they came out of the water and crossed the road at the Angkor Gate in Siem Reap.



It should be noted that these species were previously released by the APSARA Authority in collaboration with the NGO Wildlife Alliance to live in the Angkor Thom area, a safe wildlife sanctuary.
The Ministry of Environment calls on our compatriots to take care of all kinds of wild animals and to participate in the conservation of wildlife so they are there for everyone to enjoy.

VIDEO:

Funny how they all went back to get the laggard on the other side of the road

Cute nas.
Unfortunately, being a cynic ...

John Bingham wrote: ↑Sun Jul 09, 2023 6:33 pm Cute until some dumb tourist gets savaged by those vicious little fuckers.

They do have powerful jaws and can give a nasty bite in self-defense. They are extremely unlikely to attack unlessed cornered/trapped and provoked. As a visitor, otters would be the very least of my worries. A visitor has got a much higher chance of being savaged by one (or more) of the increasing population of feral and semi-domesticated dogs which abound in and around the temples and the surrounding forests.

The dog situation is bad at Phnom Bakheng, Preah Khan and very bad at Angkor Thom. While most seem to favor the sites were the vendors are concentrated, I have on more than one occasion been chased by dogs whilst cycling along the road to the east gate, and while walking and cycling on the walls surrounding Angkor Thom. Once had a muntjac come racing past me with 3 dogs in hot pursuit (one, a lactating bitch). In fact, along the walls surrounding Angkor Thom it is rare not to encounter a dog(s) or find their tracks. I think that the authorities need to tackle this issue a.s.a.p., especially when seen in the light of their rewilding project with the Wildlife Alliance. I regularly see dogs leaving the temple grounds early in the mornings - I suspect they come in to hunt at night (for food or females on heat), or, accompany their owner(s) who come in at night or very early morning to hunt/harvest etc whilst the Apsara National Authority staff are off-duty.

I suspect the situation is getting rapidly worse throughout the entire Angkor Archaeological Park area as people get moved out and abandon dogs (and let's not even talk about cats).