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JAPAN — Now is your chance to own a pair of “the only jeans on earth designed by dangerous animals.”
A volunteer group of zoo supporters is getting creative with its latest fundraising efforts to support the Kamime Zoo in Hitachi City, Japan. The group, called the Mineko Club, is auctioning off “Zoo Jeans” made from denim that was distressed by lions, tigers and bears.
To enlist the animals' help, volunteers covered their favorite playthings, like rubber balls and tires, with sheets of denim, according to the Zoo Jeans website.
“Then we return them to the animals and let nature run its course,” a statement on the Zoo Jeans website reads. “The animals roar, gnaw and claw at their toys, and when they’re done we gather up what’s left of the damaged denim.”
The animals roar, gnaw and claw at their toys, and when they're done we gather up what's left of the damaged denim.
–Zoo Jeans website
The final jeans are sewn by humans, but the rips and tears are “created with pure animal instinct.” A video shows the big cats and bears happily pouncing on the opportunity to use their claws and teeth to help.
A photo gallery of the jeans can be found online.
The auction is being held on Japan’s Yahoo Auction. One pair distressed by tigers, dubbed the "T1," sold for 121,000 yen, or about $1,200, on Monday, according to Yahoo News.
A Tokyo advertising executive who wanted to give back to his childhood zoo came up with the idea for the jean fundraiser, Yahoo reported. All of the profits will be donated to Kamime Zoo and the World Wildlife Fund, according to the Mineko Club.
