BATON ROUGE – It’s move-in day at LSU. While students are moving into their residence halls, another new prospective member of the LSU community is also moving in this week – a possible new tiger mascot.
The tiger, “Harvey,” arrived on campus Aug. 15 and is currently being housed in the night house of the tiger habitat. The 11-month-old, male tiger must be quarantined in the night house for at least one week so that he can be observed by LSU veterinarians to ensure that he is healthy and a good fit for LSU. If that occurs, he will be formally introduced as the new mascot. Until that time, he is not Mike VII.
During the quarantine period, this rescue tiger will be acclimating to his new surroundings and will not be on view to the public or available for the media to photograph; his overall health must come first. Therefore, a photo of Harvey is attached so the LSU community can see him.
Harvey was donated to LSU from a sanctuary in Okeechobee, Fla., called “Wild at Heart Wildlife Center.” By providing a home for a tiger that needs one, LSU hopes to raise awareness about the problem of irresponsible breeding and the plight of tigers kept illegally and/or inappropriately in captivity in the U.S.