Move over Seal Team, the Harry Otter clan are the new stars at the V&A

Celebrity guests are nothing new at Cape Town's V&A Waterfront, which has hosted the likes of Michael Jackson, Nelson Mandela and Muammar Gaddafi.

And much like the famous humans who have preceded them, the latest star turns will also have a dedicated security detail monitoring their every move.

They are a family of Cape clawless otters that have taken up residence in the Waterfront’s upmarket waterways and swimming pools, and even on an island at the five-star One&Only hotel.

From next month the otters will have two kayak-paddling chaperones to help them settle in — and let guests enjoy their antics without getting their toes nipped.

The Waterfront-funded initiative,  run by the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation,  follows a similar highly successful seal-monitoring programme. It will double as a research project, providing data for scientific study of the elusive species.

“There has been an otter at the Waterfront since 2018. We picked it up on the CCTV cameras,” said wildlife management programme co-ordinator, Brett Glasby. “Then in January we saw it had arrived with two females, and now there is a youngster.”

Whereas initial otter encounters were few and far between — usually around a hotel swimming pool, which the otters  use as a fresh water supply, and sometimes when they ran through a restaurant — sightings have become more frequent as the family grows.

The otters particularly like the V&A marina and canal precinct with its many private pools and decks. They have two semi-permanent homes or “holts”, with a possible third being constructed on an island at the  One&Only resort, which was conceived by “Sun King” Sol Kerzner.

“The otters arrived during lockdown while the resort was very quiet,” said One&Only Cape Town assistant communications manager Michelle Monk. “They tend to congregate around the island, including the pool and canal waterways, even hunting the fish in our water features. They can sometimes be seen lazily swimming around the canal and running about the outdoor Vista and Nobu seating areas.”

But it hasn’t all been smiles and Instagram heaven. The otters startled a few tourists and prompted a backlash from one bite victim. Their proximity to humans making  recreational use of the waterways  was all the more reason  for the monitoring programme, with the main aim being peaceful coexistence.

An otter working group has been established to monitor other otters at locations such as Granger Bay, Simon’s Town, St James and Green Point Park.

Two Oceans Aquarium assistant curator Claire Taylor, in charge of animal-human conflict mitigation, last week addressed the city's boating community on how to deal with the increasingly inquisitive otters, which have damaged vessels at marina berths. 

Rather than remove them, Taylor and her team are providing such solutions as floating platforms in the canal zone, with foliage and fresh water pools,  to lure the otters away from  swimming pools and fountains. They have also provided signage to educate guests and have briefed One&Only staff, among other things on the need to caution tourists about keeping their distance. 

“Experts have suggested that the generation of wildlife we are seeing has figured out how to live in the urban environment,” said Taylor. “This is not necessarily an increase in the otter population — it’s just that we’re seeing them more now, which is an amazing progression and privilege.”