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New Straits Times

#NSTviral: Otters spotted frolicking in Sungai Gombak [WATCH]

KUALA LUMPUR: A video showing a bevy of otters swimming and playing at Sungai Gombak, beside the Bandaraya LRT station, here, has made rounds on social media. The video which was posted by user @eytanaz82 three days ago has amassed about 771,200 views on TikTok and was reproduced on other social media platforms. While many people acknowledged the cuteness of the mammals socialising at the river, environmental activist Aidil Iman Aidid debunked a myth that had been crowding the comments section under the post. "People are saying that the presence of otters in Kuala Lumpur means our rivers are clean, but not necessarily! "Research in India and Singapore have shown that smooth-coated otters are pressured to adapt in suboptimal habitats because of rapid urbanisation and development," he said. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, the smooth-coated otter is categorised as a vulnerable species. Nonetheless, user @namiixue said that not only otters were spotted in the area. "It's like a free Zoo Negara over there. "I have seen crocodiles, snakes, and Asian water monitors there," she said.