AP Strange SummaryBrief at 12:08 a.m. EST

Think you can bellow like a stag? German hunters compete in a national deer calling championship

DORTMUND, Germany (AP) — German hunters tried to convince the jury at a national stag calling championship that they can imitate a bellowing red deer most realistically. The unique tradition goes back hundreds of years and was initially aimed at feigning a stag’s rival during the rutting season so the deer comes out. The competition took place at a trade fair in the western city of Dortmund. There were no animals, only bellowing men wearing traditional hunters’ garb including green hats with a tuft of chamois hair. The hunters used specially made ox horns, triton snail shells, glass cylinders and other instruments that amplify the sound and resonance.

The runaway alligator and other bizarre calls that hampered UK ambulance dispatchers

LONDON (AP) — Ambulance services stretched thin in the U.K. are drawing attention to the non-emergency calls that are hampering their response times. The Welsh Ambulance Service says 15% of the more than 425,000 calls it received last year were for non-emergencies. They included calls for a chipped tooth, a finger stuck in a beer bottle and a man who was scared because his son's pet alligator got loose. Dispatcher Emma Worrall says she told the gator caller that they wouldn't be sending an ambulance unless he got bit. South Western Ambulance Service in England says more than a quarter of its 1 million-plus calls last year did not require an ambulance.

A food bank netted a huge haul of 13,000 fresh salmon. The catch? The fish were still alive

AUBURN, N.Y. (AP) — An upstate New York food bank was offered more than 40,000 pounds of coho salmon — a bountiful feast. But there was a catch. The fish were still swimming in their tanks at an area salmon farm that was going out of business. The Food Bank of Central New York needed to figure out how to remove about 13,000 fish from the water at LocalCoho and then process them into frozen fillets. And fast. They did it with help of the business and dozens of volunteers, many wading into tanks in waterproof overalls to scoop up thousands of salmon in nets. The protein-rich salmon soon will be distributed among 243 food pantries and other institutions that feed the hungry.

Pug life: A South African woman has rescued more than 2,500 of the lovable 'clowns of the dog world'

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A woman in South Africa has rescued more than 2,500 pugs over the years after she and her husband sold their house, lived in a trailer home for a while and generally reset their lives to help as many dogs in need as they could. Cheryl and Malcolm Gaw eventually established their pug rescue center in Johannesburg in 2010 because of an overflowing number of pups in their house. Cheryl Gaw, who is 63, says it was “never part of the plan” to be a 24-7 pug rescue service when they looked ahead to their retirement, but “the pugs won.”

Watch a miles-long cluster of dolphins captured on drone video

A miles-long cluster of dolphins was filmed leaping, gliding and cavorting their way across Carmel Bay on the central coast of California. They formed an unusual “super pod” of more than 1,500 of the marine creatures. Captain Evan Brodsky, with the Monterey Bay Whale Watch, captured drone footage of Friday's huge gathering of Risso’s dolphins. Marine biologist Colleen Talty also was on the trip and ssays the mix of adult and juvenile dolphins were likely the result of several pods coming together and swimming southward. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says Risso’s dolphins typically travel in groups of 10 to 30 animals.

Man says he was behind some of the viral googly eyes on public art in Oregon

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man in the central Oregon city of Bend says he was responsible for some of the googly eyes placed on sculptures there. The googly eyes sparked a viral sensation covered widely by news outlets last month. City officials at the time said eight sculptures total were affected. Bend resident Jeff Keith says he placed them on two sculptures.  As the founder of a nonprofit that works to combat human trafficking, Keith said pranks help him cope with his emotionally heavy work. The googly eyes delighted many residents. But the city said the adhesive can damage the art, and it spent $1,500 to remove them.

Anchorage Museum among Alaskans combining to win auction for Alaska Railroad's golden spike

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The golden spike that was used to complete the Alaska Railroad in 1923 will for the first time be on permanent display in Alaska after entities combined to win an action for the 14-karat gold spike Friday. The Anchorage Museum and the city of Nenana, with financial help from private donors and the Alaska Railroad, won the Christie’s auction of the spike in New York with a bid of $201,600. That was more than four times the $50,000 top-line estimate for the historical artifact. President Warren G. Harding tapped the spike during the ceremony outside Nenana 102 years ago. The spike has since been held in private hands outside Alaska.

Last 4 escaped monkeys are captured in South Carolina after months on the loose

YEMASSEE, S.C. (AP) — Officials say they have recaptured the final four monkeys who escaped two months ago from a South Carolina compound that breeds them for medical research. Yemassee Police announced the final captures Friday in a social media post without further details. The 43 monkeys escaped from the Alpha Genesis facility through unlocked gates. The last holdouts have spent two months living in the woods, weathering a rare snowstorm and being temped back into captivity by peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard said in a statement that all the monkeys appeared to be in good health.

The man pushed onto New York's subway tracks says he will ride again

NEW YORK (AP) — A man who survived being shoved onto subway tracks ahead of an oncoming train in New York City says that in spite of the trauma, he eventually plans to make his way back to the train. Joseph Lynskey said in an interview with the New York Times that New York is his home and he won't be intimidated. The 45-year-old was standing on the platform in the West 18th Street station after lunch on New Year’s Eve when a hard shove from behind sent him flying off the platform and under the train. A 23-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault charges.