A British man has told of how he was attacked by a family of otters in a Singapore park. Graham George Spencer feared he would die during the morning incident in the city's Botanic Gardens. He was pinned down and bitten “26 times in 10 seconds” by the creatures before a friend ran up screaming to scare them away. “I actually thought I was going to die — they were going to kill me,” he told the <i>Straits Times.</i> “If it wasn’t for my friend, I don’t think I’d still be here. I’d be dead,” he told another local outlet, <a href="https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/visitor-singapore-botanic-gardens-bitten-26-times-otters-such-incidents-rare-says-gardens-1765791"><i>Today</i></a>. The drama unfolded on November 30 when he spotted the otters, whose numbers have swelled in recent years, during a walk in the gardens. The animals were shuffling along quietly but “went crazy” when another walker ran towards them, Mr Spencer said. Staff at a nearby visitor centre treated him before he went to the city's Gleneagles hospital where he was given tetanus shots and antibiotics. He had since returned to hospital three times, racking up a $1,200 medical bill. Singapore Botanic Gardens is investigating the incident, Mr Spencer told the media. Singapore is reportedly home to about 10 families of otters, or about 90 in total. Their numbers have risen over the years as the city state's polluted river has been cleaned up. In May, a 77-year-old man reportedly was <a href="https://theindependent.sg/elderly-man-attacked-by-otter-along-kallang-river-warns-others-of-potential-danger/">bitten on the leg</a> by an otter while exercising near Kallang River in Singapore. “DO NOT touch, chase or corner the otters. Observe them from a distance. Going too close to the otters may frighten them,” Singapore’s national parks board said in an advisory on what to do during an encounter with an otter.