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January 31, 2013 There have been 20 reports of human salmonella infections linked to pet hedgehogs recently. Public health officials say people should keep the animals away from areas where food is prepared and served.

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January 31, 2013 Owls can turn their heads 270 degrees without injuring themselves. That's more than twice as far around as humans can safely handle. Nifty adaptations in owls' vertebrae and blood vessels make it possible.

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January 29, 2013 There are as many as 47 million pet cats out hunting for prey. Add that to the tens of millions of feral cats and strays, and researchers estimate that the furry felines are responsible for billions of bird and small mammal deaths every year.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

January 28, 2013 Aficionados of cheeses made from the milk of mountain-grazing cows swear they really do taste better than those from cattle pastured on plains. Now, scientists are teasing out some of these subtle differences – in hopes of proving the mountain cheese tradition is worth preserving.

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January 27, 2013 Call it "the rumble by the ruins." Each year, Turkey's toughest camels gather in Selcuk, near the Aegean Sea, for the Camel Wrestling Championship. It's a Turkic tradition dating back thousands of years. But it is a tradition under threat.

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On Weekend Edition SundayPlaylist

January 26, 2013 The streets of Paris are marred by messes from dogs whose owners haven't cleaned up after them. There's a fine, but the culprits have to be caught in the act (or lack thereof). In this personal essay, NPR's Eleanor Beardsley goes after one thing about the city that she finds very, very wrong.

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On Weekend Edition SaturdayPlaylist

January 24, 2013 Mainers say the shrimp have a sweet and delicate flavor. But there won't be many of them to go around this year. The fishing season is short, the allowable catch is small and the number of shrimp in the Gulf of Maine has been dwindling for a while now.

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January 24, 2013 Most dogs will eat just about anything. But, that wasn't always the case. The domestic dog's ancestor, the gray wolf, only ate meat. And a new report suggests hanging out with humans — and our garbage — may have helped them evolve to digest a wide range of foods.

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January 23, 2013 An NIH working group recommends that most of the agency's 360 research chimpanzees be sent to a sanctuary — a non-laboratory setting where chimps can live more natural lives. But even if the NIH accepts the recommendations, putting them into effect won't be easy.

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On Morning EditionPlaylist

January 21, 2013 KUOWScientists are worried about the elusive members of the weasel family that live in parts of Olympic National Forest in Washington state. To see whether martens are endangered, volunteers are installing remote camera traps to take photos of the animals.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

January 18, 2013 A big boxing match usually features two guys, thick with muscle, who know how to bob, weave and use their fists. This bout has two fighters who can't make fists because they don't have hands. What they have are necks. Long necks.

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January 18, 2013 The National Institutes of Health owns or supports almost 700 chimps. But the question of where they go when no longer needed for research is a thorny one: NIH money to support retired chimps in sanctuaries has been limited by Congress.

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On Morning EditionPlaylist