If you’ve ever watched Netflix’s Tiger King, you’ll know that tigers are expensive, difficult to care for, and owned by a range of interesting characters and institutions.

The TV show, which introduced the world to Joe Exotic and his collection of over 170 tigers, was among the first to fully reveal how widespread, unregulated, and chaotic big cat ownership is in the United States.

This led to increased scrutiny and questions about the adequacy of state and federal laws protecting these large animals. After years of trying, Congress passed the Big Cat Public Safety Act in Dec. 2022, which prohibits the ownership of tigers, jaguars, lions, all types of leopards, cheetahs and cougars.

Experts said it was the end of big cat exploitation.“These beautiful but powerful predators deserve to live in the wild, not be kept in captivity for people’s entertainment—even as cubs,” Susan Millward, executive director of the Washington D.C.-based Animal Welfare Institute, said at the time.

However, the law does have some exceptions, including state colleges and universities.

That means Louisiana State University’s controversial tiger program was allowed to continue, raising further questions about its influence on harmful roadside and backyard zoos nationwide and fellow colleges with live animal mascots.

The Mikes

Since 1936, LSU has had seven live tigers act as the school’s mascot. Most lived in cramped conditions of less than 2,000 square feet and were paraded around the football stadium on game days.

The current tiger is a Siberian-Bengal mix named Mike VII. He lives in a 14,000-square-foot compound just feet from the school’s basketball stadium and around 200 feet from the 100,000-seater Tiger Stadium, noted as one of the loudest college football venues in the country.

His predecessor, Mike VI, was the last tiger used on game day, back when cheerleaders regularly performed on his cage to Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger.”

The various Mikes usually make the news when one dies and a replacement is announced. Various advocacy groups, including PETA, have asked LSU to end its “cruel” tiger program. Other animal rights groups and opinion pieces have pointed out that LSU’s use of poorly regulated “backyard” or roadside sanctuaries and zoos to source its tigers lends credibility to a controversial industry of for-profit breeding and trading of wild animals.

Wildlife advocates predicted during the search for Mike VII in 2016 and 2017 that no reputable zoo or sanctuary would give LSU a tiger.

“The only source could be a shady pseudo-sanctuary or a roadside zoo,” said Debra Leahy, an expert in captive wildlife protection with the Humane Society of the United States. “But by perpetuating the live mascot, they are participating in exotic animal trade.”

LSU’s last two tigers came from questionable animal sanctuaries, both of which have since been shut down by the federal government for failing various inspections. Mike VI came from a facility in Indiana that was shut down in 2014 for failing to provide proper care to animals, while a facility run by Mike VII’s previous owners in Florida was shuttered after repeated citations for unsafe and unsanitary conditions.

Because of closures and private breeding programs, the location and number of tigers privately owned aren’t fully known. According to the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), there are between 5,000 and 10,000 tigers in the United States, with around 6% held by zoos and other facilities accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Most tigers in the U.S. are thought to be in Florida and Texas.

In contrast, there are around 4,500 wild tigers worldwide, according to the WWF.

In addition to the 2022 federal law, a patchwork of state laws regulates the ownership and breeding of exotic animals. Only a handful of states completely ban private ownership of tigers, while others have partial bans or require permits.

The new federal law prohibits importing, exporting, transporting, selling, breeding, and possessing big cats. But the law makes exceptions for anyone who owned a big cat before the legislation passed. It also allows ownership if the animal is publicly displayed in a facility with a United States Department of Agriculture license, like a zoo.

There are exceptions for qualifying animal sanctuaries that meet specific requirements, anyone transporting big cats to a qualifying person, and state colleges and universities.

Bears, bulldogs and boars.

Over the decades, the Mikes have progressively enjoyed better accommodation and care. Despite these improvements, the college’s insistence that it continues the tradition of keeping a captive tiger on campus appears extreme in an era of heightened awareness of animal rights and as other colleges end their use of animal mascots.

The tradition of live animal mascots in U.S. colleges dates back to around 1889, starting with Yale’s Handsome Dan bulldog. The University of Alabama had an elephant in the 1940s. Southern University, also in Baton Rouge with LSU, had a jaguar from the 1960s until the early 2000s. The University of Memphis used a tiger on game days until Sept 2020. Now, it just sponsors one at the local zoo.

But plenty of colleges still have animal mascots with various living situations and game-day responsibilities.

Baylor University has two new black bears that live in a small compound in the middle of the school’s Waco, Texas, campus—about 600 feet from an interstate. No bear has attended game days since 2003.

The University of Texas has a Longhorn named Bevo who attends all home games and some away games. Auburn University flies a Golden Eagle ahead of each football game. The University of Colorado’s Buffalo Ralphie often leads the football team out for home games. The University of Southern California has a white horse named Traveler IX that runs the sidelines when the team scores.

But there’s lots more, including a ram, a goat, a Russian boar, and a rooster.

The University of North Alabama had two lions, one passing away in 2022 and the other in May 2024.

Unlike Mike VII, not all these animals are highly intelligent apex predators kept in inadequate enclosures or sanctuaries. Bevo, Ralphie and Traveler IX are kept on ranches, while Auburn’s eagle is housed at the school’s raptor center.

While there aren’t any reports of problems with Mike VII’s mental health, he would have a very different life in the wild. Male tigers’ territories are 100 square miles, roughly 19,000% larger than LSU’s enclosure. That would be like a human living in a shoebox. Some tigers living in sparsely populated regions of Siberia have territories of around 400 square miles.

The Wild Health Tiger Project, a U.K.-based veterinary information group, recommends that tigers live in enclosures no smaller than 60,000 square feet.

Substantial research indicates the extreme psychological impact on animals living in confined spaces, subjected to large crowds and loud environments. Studies have shown that such conditions can lead to zoochosis, a condition characterized by repetitive, abnormal behaviors due to stress, anxiety, boredom, and depression.

However, as LSU fans will tell you, Mike VII enjoys a luxurious life and would likely be worse off had he not been taken by the school.

His $3 million enclosure features a waterfall, live oak trees, and Renaissance architecture as a backdrop. He also has a private veterinarian and access to the school’s veterinarian program.

But that can’t be said for the thousands of tigers under private ownership in the U.S.

It’s hard to find specific stats noting the seizure of tigers or the closure of the facilities that hold them. However, some media and advocacy groups report on both.

A roadside zoo in Indiana was closed in 2020 after the owner, Tim Stark, an associate of Joe Exotic, hid animals from inspectors in a box truck without ventilation or water, including two-declawed tiger clubs. A warrant was issued for his arrest at the time.

A PETA report named 16 other dangerous roadside zoos nationwide, alleging and providing evidence of improper care for the animals living there. The report also gave advice for people thinking of visiting.

“Don’t be swayed by speciesist places that tack on the word ‘sanctuary’ or ‘rescue’ to their name,” noted PETA in the report. “It’s a deceptive ploy that many roadside zoos use to dupe unwitting visitors. Be sure not to spend any of your vacation time at places where animals will still languish in misery long after you’re back home.”