Britain's Prince Charles wants grey squirrels exterminated.

The future king - a keen environmentalist - has claimed it is essential to eliminate the animal, introduced from North America in the 19th century, because of the threat they pose to native red squirrels.

Curiosity killed the squirrel and left thousands of Richmond, Virginia residents without power for several hours.

A squirrel reportedly caused a short circuit in an electrical substation, leaving a large area of downtown Richmond without electricity on Friday from 9 a.m. until early afternoon. Crews making repairs to the facility have to shut down a second substation.

Two playful squirrels caused power outages in two states Monday, affecting more than 1,500 customers and interrupting supply for nearly an hour.

Squirrels are the leading causes of outages in the United States, next only to severe weather. Thus, power companies make it a point that these curious animals either do not come in contact with the lines or have no way of entering their facilities.

A grey squirrel had to be rescued from a bird feeder after eating so many peanuts that it could not squeeze itself out through the bars, the RSPCA (Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty against Animals) said Thursday.

A worried resident in Dorset, England, called RSPCA inspector Graham Hammond on October 17 after finding the squirrel stuck in the peanut-filled feeder.