1. Lizard king: A German reptile collector has been jailed for 14 weeks and must pay a $5,000 fine for trying to smuggle 44 wild geckos out of New Zealand. He was stopped at the airport with the lizards in his pants.

2. Smelling a rat: A Wisconsin woman who brought a dead rat into a restaurant and hid it in her food in hopes of scoring a big payday has pleaded no contest to a felony charge of extortion. …

Police determined the rat had been cooked in a microwave, and the restaurant had no microwaves.

3. A bit cranky: A man in Sandusky got so upset over a mistake on the price of crab cakes that he punched a grocery-store manager. The 61-year-old was arrested on charges of assault and criminal damaging.

4. Groundhog Day: PETA wants organizers of Pennsylvania’s Groundhog Day festival to replace Punxsutawney Phil with a robot. The group says it’s unfair to keep the animal in captivity and subject him to the huge crowds and bright lights each Feb. 2.

5. 13-under: A man in Scotland noticed an unusual rattling sound coming from the stomach of his black lab named Oscar. The source of the sound: 13 golf balls. “He finds golf balls like truffles,” said Oscar’s owner, who regularly walks the dog at a nearby golf course.

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