Monkey mom: A monkey cradles a pup in Jammu. (PTI)

Howrah, May 31: A bunch of angry, screeching langurs, out to avenge the killing of a baby among them by a pack of dogs, kept a Howrah locality terrified all evening.

Eyewitnesses said some eight langurs were prowling down Dinu Lane in the Bantra area around 5pm when the dogs began chasing them.

All the langurs escaped, except a baby that was clinging to its mother but was snatched away by a dog, which bit its leg. “We tried to save the baby, but before we could reach the spot, the dogs had torn its neck,” said resident Sanjay Majhi.

The mother langur tried to come to the baby’s rescue but was outnumbered. “When the dogs killed her baby, she screeched and vanished from the place in a second,” Majhi said.

“After 10 minutes, more than 20 adult langurs descended on the spot and pounced on the dogs. The snarls terrified us. The racket the barking dogs and the langurs made almost shattered our eardrums,” Majhi said.

The langurs threw whatever they could lay their hands on at the dogs. The dogs first tried to fight back, then ran for cover. But the langurs did not leave. Late at night, they were seen on rooftops, walls and balconies.

“The langurs’ reaction was natural since one of their members had been killed. We have sent a team. Once the body of the baby is removed, the pack would leave the place,” said Pradip Dutta, the district forest officer, Howrah.

“Residents are still indoors, fearing attacks from the langurs,” Majhi said.