A woman was shot dead after a hunter mistook her for a monkey it has been reported.

The 19-year-old man was on a hunting trip in Saudi when he saw what he thought was a monkey sitting in the top of a tree harvesting fruit.

‘He aimed his gun and shot. The bullet hit the woman in the chest. When the man came near her, he was shocked to find she is a woman,’ Emirates 24/7 said.

Mistake: The 19-year-old man was on a hunting trip in Saudi when he saw what he thought was a monkey sitting in the top of a tree harvesting fruit (file picture)

The female shepherd, in her 60s, was in the tree in the western Saudi town of Taif when she was shot.

He took her to the hospital but she was pronounced dead on arrival, reports say.

He told police he had killed her by mistake as he thought she was an monkey damaging the tree.

Saudi has suffered problems in the past after baboons and other monkeys flooded into villages looking for food.