Mike the Tiger

Long as we keep Harvey Updike far away...

If memory serves one of the keepers left the door / gate unlatched.

Was in 1986 or 87, I believe.

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 1988, Moacyr Cezar, a disgruntled Brazilian who had come to Baton Rouge hoping to get a job with the LSU Athletic Department, took the keys from Mike's student caretaker and locked himself in the outer portion of Mike IV's enclosure (then, as now, there was double-fencing). He claimed to have a gun or a bomb. Campus and city police surrounded the enclosure; he continued making threats for five hours and finally surrendered. His "gun" was a water pistol and his "bomb" was a sack of books. He was arrested and later returned to Brazil.

These stories about Mike can be found in Dr. David Baker's book, "Mike the Tiger: The Roar of LSU." Dr. Baker is Mike's veterinarian. You may also contact me if you have questions about any of the Mikes. My number is 225-578-9922 and my email address is gguttner@lsu.edu.

Ginger Guttner
Director of Public Relations
LSU School of Veterinary Medicine