Had tears well up earlier when I heard. One of the most beautiful animals on earth. When I first moved to BR after college he was just a young lad and I'd sometimes stop by after work just to watch him. During the hot summer days he'd routinely be in the pool area with one of many toys/balls playing like you'd see a house cat playing. There is/was a grace about him that you rarely see in a zoo tiger. Maybe it was because of the daily human interaction from his handlers but you could tell something different about him. No "zoo" tiger walks/acts that way and I think it was result of the affection he received from his handlers.

Be it a rival as it is, I feel we should all keep our traditions, especially one as special as this. There will be groups wanting LSU to stop housing a tiger on campus but any person with half a brain can see the LSU habitat and know it's better than 99% of the zoo tiger habitats on earth. Plus you have a dedicated staff for one animal. They need another tiger.