2 Monkeys That Allegedly Killed Nearly 250 Puppies Captured, Released Into Forest

Two monkeys that were creating panic among people in a village in India have been captured and released into a forest. The simians were allegedly involved in killing at least 250 puppies.

Residents of Lavool village in the central Indian state of Maharashtra were in the grip of fear for the last few months due to the presence of two "killer" langurs. They said the monkeys would capture puppies and leave them on top of people's houses or tree branches until they fall or die of hunger.

"Two monkeys involved in the killing of dogs have been captured by a Nagpur forest department team in Beed," said Sachin Kand, a forest officer, Hindustan Times reported. "Both the monkeys are being shifted to Nagpur to be released in a nearby forest."

People said they rarely visited their rooftops because they were terrified of the monkeys. Some pups fell to their deaths after they were left on high branches of trees, WION reported.

Residents say not even a single puppy is left in the village now.

The monkeys also targeted young school children and attacked them. When the forest department officials initially failed to capture the monkeys, a few local residents attempted to save some of the puppies. This provoked the monkeys and they attacked the villagers. Some of them were injured in such incidents, News18 reported.

"In the last two-three months, there have been incidents where the langurs roaming in the area would catch puppies and take them to a place with considerable height to throw them from there. At least 250 dogs have been killed so far," a villager said, according to the Hindustan Times.

Some villagers claim that the whole incident started after a pack of dogs killed a baby monkey. However, forest officials have not confirmed any such attack.

In October, a man in New Delhi was killed after a monkey flung a brick at him that hit him on the head. The victim was on his way to work when the brick came flying toward him. He was rushed to a hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.