#MyLSUTiger

The history of

Mike the Tiger

Whether you’re a life-long LSU fan or you simply had a personal encounter with Mike, it’s easy to understand the magnetism of this proud tiger. From helping bring home national titles to escaping from his enclosure, Mike’s story is as colorful as the pageantry he presides over.

1936

Mike I

In 1934, 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 decided to bring a real tiger to LSU – then known as the “Old War Skule.” They raised $750, collecting twenty-five cents from each student, and purchased a two-hundred pound, one-year-old tiger from the Little Rock Zoo. The cub was born on October 10, 1935, and was originally named Sheik. His name was changed in honor of Chambers, the man most responsible for bringing him to LSU. Mike I arrived on campus on October 21, 1936. He passed away nearly twenty years later, on June 29, 1956, due to complications associated with kidney disease. Following Mike’s death, a fund was established to perpetuate his memory by mounting his pelt in a lifelike manner and displaying him at the university’s Louisiana Museum of Natural History, where it remains to this day.

Mike II

A few days after the death of Mike I, Representative Kenneth Deshotel of St. Landry introduced a resolution in the Louisiana legislature endorsing the purchase of another tiger. On campus, the Mike the Tiger Fund was launched by student body president Enos Parker and fellow students Vic Koepp and John Nunn. On August 4, 1956, the LSU Board of Supervisors passed a resolution stating that caretaker salaries and maintenance costs for the new tiger would come equally from student fees and the Athletic Department. Mike II was born on February 28, 1956, at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. He arrived secretly on campus on September 28, 1956. Mike’s unveiling occurred the next day – opening day of football season. A ceremony was held, during which Enos Parker presented a check for $1,500 to George Douglas, superintendent of the Audubon Zoo. Legend has it that less than a month after his arrival at LSU, Mike II died of pneumonia at only eight months of age. Reportedly, Mike II was then secretly buried under a willow tree along the Mississippi River by newly appointed athletic director Jim Corbett, campus police chief C. R. “Dick” Anderson, and LSU Athletic Department business manager Jack Gilmore. To explain Mike’s absence, a statement was issued in the LSU Daily Reveille on October 23, saying that Mike was having trouble adjusting to his enclosure and was therefore being kept inside “until he becomes more accustomed to the excitement of being a mascot.” Another cub of the right age was located at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, according to Gilmore. In addition to Gilmore’s testimony, several pieces of evidence support the legend that the original Mike II died and was replaced by another young tiger. Photographs of Mike II taken before and after his convalescence are clearly of two different tigers (facial markings of tigers are as unique as fingerprints), and he seemed to have grown at a tremendous rate. All rumors of the death and replacement of Mike II were denied. The second Mike II reigned at LSU for only one season. He died at the Audubon Zoo on May 15, 1958, of complications associated with multiple fractures to his left rear leg (it was not known exactly how or when the leg was injured). In 1955, Mike’s care was taken over by Dr. Joe Dixon of the LSU Department of Veterinary Science. Thereafter, while the Athletic Department retained authority over the tiger’s day-to-day life, Mike I and subsequent tigers would have a veterinarian to attend to their medical needs.

Mike III

In 1958, Jim Corbett and Jack Gilmore located and purchased Mike III from the Seattle Zoo. Mike III was born on November 26, 1957, and arrived at LSU in late August 1958. The LSU student body raised $1,500 for his purchase and transportation (though the final purchase price was only $950, with an additional $100 for transportation). A five-cent “tradition fee” was assessed each student for the tiger’s care. Mike III was introduced to the general public at the first home game of the 1958 season, on October 4 against Hardin-Simmons University (LSU won 20-6). In 1976 (three years after the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine accepted its first class), Dr. Sheldon Bivin of the LSU SVM was asked to take over as veterinarian for Mike III. Dr. Bivin was head of both the Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine and the exotic animal medicine service in the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine (LSU SVM), so he was the natural choice. This marked the formal transfer of responsibility for the tiger from the Athletic Department to the LSU SVM. Mike died of pneumonia on August 12, 1976, after the only losing football season of his lifetime.

Mike IV

Mike IV was born at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Fla., on May 15, 1974. He was donated to LSU on August 27, 1976, by August A. Busch, III and arrived at LSU two days later. Mike spent the summer of 1981 at the Little Rock Zoo while his enclosure was being expanded from four hundred to eleven hundred square feet. Money for the expansion was raised from the LSU Student Government Association, the Athletic Department, LSU fans, and a fee of $2 per student. In 1981, pranksters cut the chain to the outer door and the lock to the inner cage door of the enclosure, releasing Mike. LSU police called Dr. Bivin around 1:00 a.m. to tell him that Mike was in the middle of North Stadium Drive. He wandered into the Bernie Moore Track Stadium, where Dr. Bivin shot him with a tranquilizer pistol (it took three shots to sedate him). He was safely returned to his enclosure. In April 1990, Mike developed a neurologic problem that resulted in mild lameness. In addition, he was getting on in years and was beginning to slow down. The Baton Rouge Zoo offered to take in the aging mascot. There he lived until his condition worsened, and he became severely disabled. Mike IV was put to sleep on March 3, 1995. Mike IV was cremated, and his ashes are located in the Andonie Museum next to the LSU Alumni Association on LSU’s campus.

Mike V

Born October 19, 1989, Mike V came to LSU when he was four months old and was first introduced to fans at the LSU-Alabama basketball game in February 1990. He was donated to the university by Dr. Thomas and Caroline Atchison of the Animal Zoological Park in Moulton, Ala. On April 30, 1990, he moved into his home north of Tiger Stadium, which included a night house that was part of the original habitat constructed in 1937. During his time at LSU, Mike V underwent three medical procedures: two root canals and one benign tumor removal. All procedures were done at the LSU SVM. He passed away of renal failure at 2:23 a.m. on May 18, 2007. He had been anesthetized and brought to the LSU SVM on May 16 so that Dr. David Baker could determine the cause of recent weight loss and respiratory difficulty. During the examination, it was determined that Mike had a large amount of fluid around his lungs. Emergency surgery was performed, and the fluid successfully removed. Unfortunately, Mike’s aged kidneys could not tolerate the anesthesia and failed. Mike V was cremated, and his ashes are located in the Andonie Museum next to the LSU Alumni Association on LSU’s campus.

Mike VI

Mike VI was born July 23, 2005, and came to LSU when he was two years old. At the time of his arrival, he weighed 320 pounds. Mike VI was donated to LSU by Great Cats of Indiana, a nonprofit sanctuary and rescue facility for big cats and other large carnivores located in Idaville, Ind. He was moved into his new home on August 25, 2007, and was introduced to the LSU community a week later. He was officially declared Mike VI at a ceremony held on September 14, 2007. His debut in Tiger Stadium took place on the evening of the Florida vs. LSU football game on Saturday, October 6, 2007. LSU won 28-24.