A caged Bengal tiger was wheeled onto the field of Tiger Stadium in Louisiana’s capital Baton Rouge for the first time in nearly a decade before kickoff of Saturday night’s football game between the state’s flagship university and its Alabama counterpart. the state’s Republican governor, Jeff Landry.
The tiger in question – whose forced participation outraged animal rights activists – was not the one living on the campus of Louisiana State University (LSU), Mike VII.
The name is Omar Bradley, ostensibly in honor of the famous American military general from World War II. The animal is reportedly owned by a man with a history of citations from the U.S. Agriculture Department over a lack of proper care for his animals, the Louisiana newspaper reported. the Lawyer.
After the death of the school’s previous Tiger, Mike VI, in 2016, LSU announced that future Mike the Tigersthe school’s mascot, would no longer be brought onto the field, ending a longstanding campus tradition.
According to the school’s website, Mike VI, who died of a rare form of cancer, had attended 33 of 58 home games between 2007 and 2015.
While the university’s current live mascot, Mike VII – an eight-year-old, 345-pound tiger donated to the school from a sanctuary in 2017 – will not be brought onto the field for games, visitors can still see the tiger in its 15,000 square feet (1,394 square meters) housing, which is located on campus next to the stadium.
As a solution, Landry arranged to have a tiger imported from Florida for the match – much to the chagrin of animal rights activists, who protested outside the stadium.
Many also questioned whether Landry spent his administration’s efforts on the state stunt are arranged as the worst overall – and one of the most dangerous – in the US just months earlier.
As the tiger was dragged onto the field with a black curtain draped over the cage, large screens played a short video detailing the history of LSU’s live mascot.
The stadium lights darkened and a spotlight was shined on the cage as the curtain was raised, revealing the tiger inside, as many fans cheered.
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Initially the tiger lay down and soon after started pacing in a circle.
Minutes later, the cage was wheeled off the field as pre-match festivities continued.
The LSU football team entered Saturday ranked 14th in the U.S. and hoped to boost its chances of a national championship by beating 11th-ranked Alabama. But perhaps to the delight of Omar Bradley’s supporters, Alabama defeated LSU 42-13.
The Associated Press contributed to the reporting