More than 5,000 people lost power on Thursday evening around the Hammonds Plains Road and Kingswood Drive area — because of a squirrel.

Just before 5 p.m., the squirrel climbed on top of a transformer located inside a substation. It became a conduit for the electricity which subsequently caused the outage.

The squirrel died at the scene.

Bev Ware, a spokeswoman for Nova Scotia Power, said crews noticed the animal when they arrived.

"We know it did damage to the transformer," Ware said. It must have climbed past protection guards surrounding the equipment, she said.

"The transmission line is the main line through the area, so that's why we have so many customers who are affected by this," Ware said.

Damage to the transformer was repaired and power was restored around 7 p.m.