SINGAPORE - A 17-week-old otter pup, paralysed in its hind legs, has died after suffering injuries from a fight with other otters.

News of the pup's death was posted on Wednesday (Nov 17) on Facebook by Ottercity, a group that monitors otter families in Singapore.

The female pup, seen around the Marina Bay area, belonged to a family of four. It had one male sibling.

According to a post by Ottercity, the pup and its family had got into a fight with three other adult otters on Nov 11. It suffered injuries alongside the female adult otter, which is believed to be its mother.

Videos of the paralysed pup, called Ah Girl by volunteers, had been circulating online in the past few days after people in the area noticed that it was dragging its hind legs while keeping up with its family.

Initially expected to recover on its own, things took a worrying turn when the pup was described to be getting weaker.

The Otter Working Group, along with veterinarians from the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) and Mandai Wildlife Reserve tried to rescue the injured pup on Tuesday, but was unable to trap it, as it was surrounded by its family and hid from rescuers.

The rescue operation started at 3.30pm and was called off late in the night, with more than 25 people involved on site.

When volunteers returned at 6am the next day to check on the family, the pup was found motionless, lying in "a peaceful and comfortable position as if she were in a nice, deep sleep", described Ottercity.

Its body was then taken from the holt by volunteers and sent to Mandai Wildlife Reserve for necropsy.