Otters are audacious little beasts. This tale of a family taking on a crocodile more than twice their size (and winning) is a case in point.

The encounter was caught on film by wildlife photographer Jeffery Teo and took place at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve in Singapore. 

As you can see in this video from National Geographic, the family of six smooth-coated otters (Lutrogale perspicillata) gang up and ambush the poor, unsuspecting croc who was just minding his own business when his day took a drastic turn for the worse. But don't worry. All seven animals made it through the debacle alive and unhurt. 

Teo captures the otters bobbing in and out of the river as they approach and encircle their reptilian adversary – a tailless crocodile, imaginatively nicknamed "Tailless" by local wildlife watchers. A lot of the action occurs underwater but the sassy critters can be seen lurching at Tailless as it tries and fails to snap them up with its long snout.

The brawl comes to an end with the crocodile fleeing the scene and the otter family able to cross the river to the other side of the wetlands. 

This type of interspecies conflict isn't as uncommon as you might suspect. In fact, Teo says he has witnessed five to six instances of crocs and otters chasing one another in the last five years alone. 

As Nat Geo explains, otters are very territorial animals and are not afraid to chase off creatures much bigger than them. In this particular instance, it was a battle of six against one – so the otters certainly had numbers on their side. 

Perhaps, this croc should count itself lucky the otters weren't eyeing it up for dinner. Not so long ago, photos emerged of a single sea otter attacking (and munching on) a young alligator.

Whether it is harassing crocodiles, attacking elderly women, drowning innocent monkeys, or engaging in "forced copulation" with baby seals, otters can be real jerks. 

[H/T: National Geographic]