Monkeys in Maharashtra’s Beed district are on a rampage. According to local authorities, the monkeys in Majalgaon have killed around 80 puppies by throwing them down from heights over the past three months.

Locals say this ‘cycle of revenge’ started after a few stray dogs mauled an infant monkey to death in the area. Since then, monkeys have been picking up puppies and throwing them off the top of a tree or tall building, say villagers.

Lavool, a village in Majalgaon, has a population of around 5,000 residents. There is, however, not a single puppy left in this village now.

The behaviour of monkeys in Lavool has terrorised villagers. Some of them say a ‘gang of monkeys’ enter the village and attack puppies.

They (monkeys) come inside the village and look for puppies, said a villager. The villager adds that once the monkeys find a puppy, they snatch the stray and climb a tall tree or building with it before throwing it down to kill it.

Since the attacks by monkeys began, residents have been looking to the forest department in the hope that they will catch the monkeys terrorising the area.

The forest department, with help from local police, has managed to capture most monkeys terrorising the village.

However, locals are still concerned.

The villagers themselves have also tried to save the puppies, but the monkeys attack them in retaliation and some locals have even incurred injuries in the process.

According to reports, monkeys in Beed have also now started targeting school-going kids, which has further fueled panic among villagers. Some monkeys have even attacked villagers without any provocation.