Mike the Tiger isn’t spending Hurricane Ida swimming in his pool or hiding under trees: he’ll be staying snug indoors and eating goat-milk popsicles until the high-speed hurricane passes through LSU’s campus.
“I’m going to stay inside for the next few days because of the approaching storm,” wrote the Mike the Tiger social media accounts Saturday. “But my caretakers are making snacks so I’m all good. Stay safe, Tigers!”
The post included photos of the 415-pound tiger sleeping in the corner of a room, along with another photo featuring a can of evaporated goat milk and a unicorn mold, which was later used to make a popsicle for Mike.
“It’s no sno-ball, but I highly recommend the goats-milk-unicorn popsicle,” wrote the account.
Hurricane Ida approached Louisiana’s coast Sunday—the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina—with winds of 150 mph. LSU closed its campus Saturday through Monday, canceling all activities and encouraging students to shelter indoors as the storm moved through Baton Rouge.
“Please know that my wife and I remain in Baton Rouge,” tweeted President William Tate Sunday afternoon. “I am in contact with our teams across the state-wide LSU community. We are in pray and work mode. Join us in both as we ready ourselves for the aftermath.”
Mike’s social media accounts, headed by mascot spokesperson Ginger Guttner, started in 2009 with a Facebook page for caretakers to post photos posing as the famous tiger mascots. Since then, Mike the Tiger has gained over 200,000 followers and joined Twitter and Instagram as well.
The 4-year-old tiger circulated news and social media earlier this month after getting his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccination, allowing caretakers to remove the barricades that had been put in place to prevent possible exposure to the virus.
Mike the Tiger’s hurricane post was met with a flood of comments encouraging the mascot to stay safe and promising to visit him once the storm passes.
“Mike don’t worry, after all this is over I’m coming back for our daily visits,” commented one user.