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From Khaosod English

Otters Reconquer Thai Beach in Tourists’ Absence

RANONG — Wiggling out from the water, rubbing their backs and bellies along the beach weren’t the usual crowd of tourists, but of rare sea otters.

Residents of Koh Phayam in Ranong Friday spotted at least 10 smooth-coated otters playing on the beach, months after tourists left the island due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I’m so excited and happy to see them,” Jutharat Ladkaew, owner of a resort on Koh Phayam who posted photos of them online said. “Instead of sunbathing farangs and families vacationing, we have a new group of sunbathers.”

Jutarat counted around 10 otters. They are believed to have swam from the mainland, around the wetland area near Kra Buri River which serves as a boundary between Thailand and Myanmar.

“The otters are playing in the water, sunbathing in place of the farangs,” Sonchai Ui-tek-keng, president of the Tourism Council of Ranong said.  “This shows that Ranong is so rich in biodiversity.”