For the first time since 2015, will have on the sidelines this weekend when the Tigers face on Saturday.
The tiger on the field, according to state senator Bill Wheat, R-Ponchatoula, will not be Mike VII but a different tiger that will be on the sidelines.
The new tiger, according to multiple sources, is coming from Florida. Its name is Omar Bradley, sources said.
An LSU spokesman did not return a request for comment from The Advocate. An LSU athletics spokesperson referred to the school's communications department for any comment on the matter.
When asked about the tiger at a press conference Wednesday evening, head football coach Brian Kelly would only say "I'm a huge tiger fan."
first reported on the news of the tiger coming to Saturday's game.
The idea to bring back the live mascot tradition began earlier this season. When asked if LSU fans would get to see a live tiger inside Tiger Stadium again, behind the idea last month.
"I think that the opportunity to bring our mascot back on that field is an unbelievable opportunity," he said in an unrelated Oct. 1 press conference.
Landry pushed LSU to use the current Mike the Tiger on the field before the Alabama game, but two university vice presidents, John Walters and Courtney Phillips, met with him a month ago to say the veterinary school couldn’t allow that, according to LSU sources.
LSU's veterinary school referred comment to the LSU administration. An account for Mike VII on the social media app X, run by the vet school, posted a picture of the mascot and said "Tiger stripes are unique (like fingerprints) so you can tell the difference between different tigers."
Landry also heard pushback in late August from the two state legislators who are veterinarians, Wheat and Rep. Wayne McMahen, R-Springhill.
Landry now understands that it has to be a tiger from elsewhere.
“As you would expect, it would be very difficult to be able to try to move Mike out of an area he’s never been out of,†Landry said in an interview Thursday.
Animal rights activists have strongly opposed bringing any tiger to Tiger Stadium.
“These are naturally shy animals that shun human contact. Death Valley is famous for being the loudest and rowdiest stadium,†said Klayton Rutherford, associated director of captive wildlife research at the PETA Foundation. “It is great for football fans but terrifying to Mike. LSU got that when it stopped bringing Mike to football games nearly a decade ago.â€
PETA has featured a photograph of LSU cheerleaders sitting atop the cage that housed Mike the last time he was brought to Tiger Stadium.
Federal laws impose tight restrictions on the public use of tigers with the passage of the Big Cat Public Safety Act in 2022.
It ends the private ownership of big cats, but grandfathers in those that already have them. It also requires people to be at least 15 feet away from a tiger in a public setting.
“Whatever was done before – we know better now, and we know it’s not a good idea to put a tiger in that situation,†Catherine Doyle, director of Science, Research and Advocacy at the Performing Animal Welfare Society, said about returning a tiger to Tiger Stadium. “There would be no reputable place to get a tiger to use for this purpose.â€
Mike VI died in 2016, and Mike VII became LSU's mascot in 2017. Mike VII's predecessors had been taken to the sidelines of home games in a trailer, and some even traveled to away games.
A group of LSU employees and students started a fundraising campaign in 1935 to bring a real tiger to campus. It was lead by Athletic Department trainer Chellis “Mike†Chambers, athletic director T.P. Heard, swimming pool manager and intramural swimming coach William G. “Hickey†Higginbotham and LSU law student Ed Laborde.
They raised $750 by collecting 25 cents from each student, using the funds to purchase 1-year-old, 200-pound Sheik from the Little Rock Zoo in Arkansas. He was renamed Mike in honor of Chambers.
Additional reporting by Alyse Pfeil and Robin Miller.
