UPDATE: LSU announced Tuesday that Mike the Tiger has died.
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If any school knows how much a mascot can mean to its team, it’s Texas. What are we without our trusty steer (and his tiny, adorable horns)?
That’s why young Bevo XV (and his Texas Silver Spurs handlers) didn’t hesitate to send LSU’s Mike the Tiger flowers after the recent news that the big cat’s cancerous tumor had resumed growth. The school announced in May that the tiger had been diagnosed with spindle cell sarcoma.
The sweet note accompanying the bouquet, a picture of which was tweeted out and posted to the mascot’s Instagram account, promises to keep Mike in “our thoughts and prayers.”
Unfortunately, things aren’t looking up for Mike. The school announced last week that it was prepared to euthanize the tiger when he begins to show signs of suffering. Tuesday he was removed from his public viewing pen and placed in hospice care.
According to Geaux 247, Mike is a "a 10-year old Siberian-Bengal mix male." LSU won the 2007 BCS National Championship during his first year in the role.
With the loss of beloved Bevo XIV, who was found to have cancer in 2015, only a year behind us, the impending loss is felt by tigers and longhorns alike.
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