Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry hopes to restart a wild tradition. He announced his thoughts on Tuesday. Landry wants to bring Louisiana State University’s live tiger mascot back onto the football field.
It’s been nearly a decade since a Bengal tiger rolled out in a cage onto LSU’s famed Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge. LSU officials have not publicly said whether they are willing to revive the tradition. But Landry shares his opinion with reporters anyway.
The LSU Athletics’ webpage reports the mascot’s history. For years, LSU’s live tiger would ride through the stadium in a travel trailer “topped by the LSU cheerleaders” before home games. The tiger was nicknamed Mike. It sat in a cage that was parked next to the opponent’s locker room. The visiting team would have to pass it when entering the stadium. Talk about intimidating.
Sometimes Mike traveled with the team. The school’s website reports Mike VI attended 33 of 58 area games between 2007 and 2015. Among these were the 1985 Sugar Bowl and the Superdome in New Orleans in 1991.
Louisiana is not the only school that keeps live mascots. Yale University’s bulldog is Handsome Dan. The University of Texas at Austin has Bevo the Longhorn. The University of Colorado boasts Ralphie the Buffalo. Ralphie runs across the field with its handlers before kickoff.
LSU’s Mike VI died from a rare form of cancer in 2016. After that, the school announced that future Mike the Tigers would not be carted onto the field.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals objects to live mascots at sporting events. The animal rights group sent a letter to Landry urging against the tradition in early September. It describes the practice as cruel and dangerous. It adds that tigers are “naturally solitary animals who don’t belong in rowdy football stadiums.”
“Going back to the bad old days of using a wild animal as a sideline sideshow . . . is the last thing LSU should do,” the letter read in part.
Other animal rights groups have called on LSU to stop keeping live tiger mascots. But the school defends its practice.
Mike VII is the current mascot. The creature is an eight-year-old, 345-pound tiger donated to the school from a wildlife sanctuary in 2017. Mike VII doesn’t enter the stadium for games. Visitors can view the mascot in a 15,000-square-foot enclosure next to the stadium.
LSU officials claim the school provides a home to a needy tiger. They also argue on the LSU website that they educate others about reckless breeding and the plight of tigers kept illegally in the U.S.
“Everybody that has some anxiety over this needs to calm down,” Governor Landry says about the tiger’s possible return to Tiger Stadium. “I think the opportunity to bring our mascot back onto that field is an unbelievable opportunity.”
