Hyderabad, Jul 23 (IANS): Monkeys wreaked havoc killing around 30 lambs in a village in Telangana's Suryapet district on Wednesday, officials said.

The incident occurred in Shobanadrigudem village, notorious for monkey menace.

A group of about 20 monkeys attacked the lambs in a shed left behind by a shepherd while taking the herd of sheep for grazing in agriculture fields.

As no one was present in the house, the simians attacked the hapless lambs which were about 30 days old.

Some neighbours tried to chase away the monkeys but failed. All the lambs died of being bitten by monkeys.

Suryapet is one of the districts in the state facing monkey menace. Hordes of monkeys enter homes, raid business establishments and harass people.

Shopkeepers in some villages in the districts keep huge stuffed tiger toys to keep away the monkeys.

There are thousands of monkeys and they attack the homes and shops in hordes, steal eatables and even bite the villagers.

Districts like Peddapalli in north Telangana have come out with a novel solution. They have developed Vanara Vanams (monkey sanctuaries) in the worst affected districts. Fruit bearing trees are being grown to ensure that the monkeys don't venture into human habitations.