When we first read that headline we guessed that this was about a stuffed animal, a toy, gutted of its stuffing and filled with coke or something. But, no, Shang Erqiang, 40, a restaurant operator based in Tokyo and originally from China, was trying to sell a full-sized stuffed giant panda, as in one that had been alive once. The animal was described as ‘80 percent real,’ with the head and ears apparently sourced from another animal, with rabbit fir that was dyed to look panda-like. Erqiang wanted 3 million yen, or about $38,000 for the stuffed pelt of the endangered panda and his plea to the cops was that it wasn’t even his, but a friend’s. Killing a panda is a huge no-no; even having its pelt or trafficking in them will get you jail time. There are believed to be fewer than 1,600 wild giant pandas left in the world.

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