Mike the Tiger

Mike the Tiger is the official mascot of Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and serves as the graphic image of LSU sports. Mike is the name of both the live and costumed mascots.By tradition the tiger is a live Bengal tiger, although the last two tigers were of mixed breeds. Mike V was a Bengali-Indochinese mix, while Mike VI was a Bengali-Siberian hybrid.LSU's men's and women's sports teams are called the Fighting Tigers and Lady Tigers, respectively, and the university's football team plays its home games in Tiger Stadium. LSU first adopted its "Tigers" nickname in the fall of 1896. The moniker is a reference to the state's Confederate heritage; the Louisiana troops of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia became known as the Tigers during the Civil War in recognition of the bravery of two New Orleans brigades, the Tiger Rifles and the Washington Artillery (whose logo featured a snarling tiger's head).