Shivamogga (Karnataka): A farmer at Naluru village under Thirthahalli Taluk in the district has found a unique solution to protect his coffee and areca crop from the menace of monkeys by painting the fur of his dog to make him look like a tiger. The farmer, Srikanth Gowda, on Monday said that he had decided to paint his dog after his earlier measures using soft toys failed to do the tricks.

"Earlier I used to bring soft toys from Goa and place them in my fields to scare away the monkeys. But in the long run, the colour of the toy used to fade and the monkeys would return to damaging the crop. Then I painted Bulbul (dog) using hair dye to make him look like a tiger," Gowda told ANI here. "I now take Bulbul to the fields twice a day -- in the morning and evening. I have seen them running away at the sight of the dog. The monkeys now refrain from entering my plantations," he said.

Gowda's daughter Amulya added that seeing the success of her father's trick, other villagers have also started emulating it. "Earlier we used to have a lot of problems from monkeys, who used to destroy our crops. It was my father's idea to paint our dog to scare monkeys. In our village everyone is appreciating and replicating my father's idea," said Amulya. 

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