The Strange Story Behind the Return of a Live Tiger Back to LSU's Tiger Stadium

LSU hosts Alabama for a highly-anticipated CFB Playoff elimination game on Saturday night and for the first time since 2013, a live tiger will be in attendance. It just won’t be LSU’s mascot, Mike the Tiger.

If you have an animal living in a habitat around the corner, why wouldn’t you just bring him to the game if you wanted some extra juice at Tiger Stadium? It’s a strange story.

This may shock you, but wild cats are solitary creatures who do not enjoy being in a cage, surrounded by 100,000 screaming fans, stadium speakers, and LED light shows. Even though those did not exist in the early 20th century in Lexington, that is why Kentucky does not have a live wildcat mascot attend games.

Mike VI was the last live tiger to attend a home LSU football game. The school discontinued the practice when the animal clearly had adverse reactions to the stimuli. As you might expect, there were plenty of complaints from PETA until they let Mike VI retire to his enclosure.

The Lousiana Governor Steps In

Why is LSU deciding that now is the time to bring a tiger to the stadium? Do they think it will intimidate Kalen DeBoer and Alabama into submission? It’s not the fans who made a big stink over a live mascot.

According to the Louisiana Illuminator, bringing a live tiger back to Tiger Stadium has been a pet project (no pun intended) for Gov. Jeff Landry and the state’s Surgeon General, Ralph Abraham, who’s also a veterinarian. They lobbied LSU vets for weeks who did not budge. No matter how many times the politicians asked, they’re keeping Mike VII in his enclosure across the stadium. To remove him would jeopardize their license from the USDA.

“What if we got another tiger?” That sounds like a dumb question, but the response from LSU was “okay.”

WBRZ reports a tiger named Omar Bradley will be making the trip to Baton Rouge to be at Saturday night’s game at Death Valley. The tiger is traveling approximately 10.5 hours from outside of Orlando, FL. with his owner, Mitchel Kalmanson, who has been cited by the USDA multiple times for the improper care and handling of exotic animals. 

As you might expect, PETA is pissed.

“It’s shameful and out of touch with today’s respect for wild species that LSU has bowed to Gov. Landry’s campaign to display a live tiger at its football games to amuse the fans,” said Klayton Rutherford, a PETA executive director. “Whether the tiger is confined to campus or shipped in from elsewhere, no reputable facility would subject a tiger to such chaos and stress.”

In summary, a sketchy character in Florida is bringing a tiger named Omar Bradley (what a name) to Death Valley to fulfill a Governor’s vanity project. Only in Louisiana.

LSU is a 2.5-point underdog against Alabama. The game kicks off at 7:30 pm EST on ABC.