SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Some toothy residents along San Antonio’s famed River Walk have been causing holiday problems.

Squirrels are blamed for chewing through the wires of a new seasonal lighting system.

The San Antonio Express-News reported Thursday that city officials and the contractor are trying to figure out how to stop the squirrels and not harm the critters.

Paula Stallcup, with the city’s downtown operations, says the previous holiday lighting system involved bulbs hung on the tips of limbs and squirrels didn’t venture out that far.

The new system has LED lights wrapped around more squirrel-friendly tree trunks and branches.

City leaders in August approved a more than $580,000 contract with Preferred Landscape Lighting. A cost estimate for replacing the damaged LED lights is not yet available.

Copyright Associated Press, Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.