Painted dogs have come to the rescue of hapless farmers in Karnataka who have been struggling to deal with intense monkey infestations in their farms.

Farmers seem to be painting their dogs in tiger stripes to scare away the monkey menace in Malnad region in Shivamogga, Deccan Herald reported. Simians indiscriminately destroying crops in farms around the areas has led to a major problem for farmers.

Farmer Srikant Gowda who owned the dog said he got the idea of using fake tigers to scare away monkeys four years ago when he visited Uttara Kannada. He found a farmer in Bhatkal who was using a fake tiger doll to scare away monkeys. Gowda triedthe same tactic in his areca field and realised it worked.

However, Gowda told Deccan Herald that the endeavour would not last much longer so he instead he painted his dog. The paint is made of hair dye and lasts up to a month before fading.

The farmer has also put up posters of his dog and and that of tigers in the grass to scare away rogue monkeys.

This is not the first time that a dog started masquerading as a tiger in India. A dog named 'Wag' in Udupi was also painted with black hair dye in 2016. Its owner, Nagaraj Mestha, told Bangalore Mirror that he did it to protect his fields from raiding monkeys.