A farmer in India opted to go for a slightly more leftfield approach when it came to scaring animals away from his crops, having painted his pet dog to make it look like a tiger. We're not kidding.
Srikanth Gowda, from a village called Nallur in Thirthahalli, needed to keep monkeys away from his coffee crop.
He said he first tried placing soft toy tigers in his fields to frighten off the pesky monkeys, and this seemed to do the trick.
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Inspired by the success of his first venture, Gowda then felt it was right to do one better, and roped in his Labrador, Bulbul, to help.
Slapping some dark hair dye onto Bulbul, Gowda turned his loyal dog into a makeshift tiger and sent him out into the fields.
Miraculously, this seemed to do the trick - though I suspect this might have something to do with the fact there was a massive Labrador running wild at a bunch of monkeys, rather than the stripe effect itself. I could be wrong.
Gowda told Asia News International: "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.
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"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."
His daughter claims that now other villagers are copying her dad's concept, telling: "It was my father's idea to scare monkeys away. Earlier, monkeys used to destroy all our crops.
"Everyone in our village is replicating his idea."
While Gowda's ingenuity and creativity are admirable, many people advise against applying dye to animal fur.
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The RSPCA website states that dyeing animals' fur can be 'confusing' and 'frightening' for pets.
"They don't understand what's happening to them, or why, and some animals may find this distressing," the website says.
"People may think they're treating their pets by painting their claws or dying their fur, but some of the paints, dyes, inks and glues used are toxic and harmful to animals.
"Even if a dye is marketed as 'pet friendly', we'd strongly advise against using any, as the product may cause irritation and lead to overgrooming."
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Featured Image Credit: Twitter
Topics: World News, News, Animals, Dogs, India
