by www.LSUsports.net, LSU Sports Interactive
BATON ROUGE -- Just after 2 p.m. CDT on Friday, LSU's live Bengal tiger mascot arrived at his new 15,000 square foot habitat. Mike the Tiger, 16, has lived at the Baton Rouge Zoo since November of 2004, as his new home was built.
Members of the Geaux Zone can login to watch as Mike V arrived on campus Friday. The streaming video can be found under "Special Events" in the "Media by Type" archives section.
According to Dr. David Baker of the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, Mike's primary caretaker, he will not venture out of the interior of his habitat until at least Sunday as the tiger becomes familiar with his surroundings.
The new environment created for LSU's live Bengal tiger mascot includes lush planting, a waterfall and a stream evolving from a rocky backdrop overflowing with plants and trees. Mike's old cage was only 2,000 square feet in size.
The habitat has, as a backdrop, a tower that creates a visual bridge to the Italianate architectural theme that is found throughout the LSU campus. At a cost of $2.9 million, funded exclusively by the Tiger Athletic Foundation through privately raised donations, it is one of the largest and finest Tiger habitats in the United States.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held on Monday, Aug. 29, at 10:30 a.m. to officially announce the opening.
Among the officials on hand for the event will be LSU Chancellor Sean O'Keefe, LSU Athletics Director Skip Bertman, Tiger Athletic Foundation CEO Maj. Gen. Ron Richard, and Dr. Baker.
The co-chairs of the fund-raising committee for Mike's habitat, Delaine Emmert and Bill Hulsey, will be in attendance, as well as a number of major donors to the project.
