Squirrels crash Easter egg hunt

RICHFIELD, Minn., March 28 (UPI) -- Organizers of an Easter egg hunt in a Minnesota park said squirrels decided to get in on the action and stole some of the candy-filled plastic eggs.

Nick Thompson, a recreation supervisor in Richfield, said Saturday's event at Augsburg Park involved about 1,500 plastic eggs, 120 children and an unknown number of thieving squirrels, the Star Tribune newspaper in Minneapolis reported Thursday.

"We tried to cover all our bases but we weren't ready for the squirrels," Thompson said. "We noticed them... taking our eggs away."

Recreation supervisor Ann Hoffer said she saw a squirrel scale a tree with a plastic egg in its mouth.

"I think they just saw brightly colored objects and thought they'd go for it," she said. "They smelled the candy inside."

Workers said the squirrels only seemed interested in the candy-filled eggs, ignoring those filled with toys and other inedible prizes.