If Alabama football coach Nick Saban misses being at a university with a live mascot, then there is hope for him yet. Alabama’s Student Government Association passed a resolution this past week that will explore the possibility of bringing a live elephant to its Tuscaloosa campus. SGA President R.B. Walker said a committee is researching the logistics to see if the university could responsibly care for an elephant. The resolution names other Southeastern Conference schools – including LSU, Auburn and Tennessee – that bring live animals to their campuses for football games. “You don’t just go buy an elephant,” said Ginger Guttner, public relations coordinator for the University’s School of Veterinary Medicine. “I do know that for Mike [VI], we have a license through the USDA to have him.” Guttner said one difficulty Alabama may have in obtaining a live mascot is the lack of a veterinary medicine school to provide care for the animal. She said the University’s School of Veterinary Medicine provides all of Mike’s care. Two full-care veterinary students take care of the bengal-siberian mix on a daily basis – feeding him, performing checkups and making sure he is healthy – and Dr. David Baker, LSU’s attending veterinarian, provides additional care for the tiger. “If necessary, we have the entire faculty and staff of the Vet School [to help care for Mike],” Guttner said. “Mike is taken care of every day, 365 days a year.” Guttner said Alabama may have to seek aid from neighboring vet schools or zoos to help provide care. She said they could decide to house the elephant at a nearby zoo and “adopt” the elephant on game days. “There certainly are schools that don’t have vet schools that have live mascots,” Guttner said. “But because those mascots range through many different kinds of animals, I’m not sure how they [care for their own mascots].” Guttner said some universities have live mascots, such as Georgia – who has a bulldog – but do not house them on campus. She said obtaining the proper legal permission and the expensive cost of caring for a live mascot may prevent some universities from getting one. Peyton Gore, marketing senior, said she loves having a live mascot on campus. She said it was typical of Alabama to want a live mascot like LSU because the rival wanted LSU’s old head football coach as well. “I think it increases how dedicated fans are and how much we love our school,” Gore said. “They’re one step behind us always. Everybody wants to be like LSU. We’re the best.” Andrew Simmons, religious studies senior, said he likes the idea of Alabama getting a live elephant. He said as long as the school could properly care for an elephant, they should get one. “[Having a live mascot] didn’t really originate with us,” Simmons said. “So I don’t think you could say they stole [the idea] from us.” Herb Vincent, senior associate athletic director, said having a live mascot attracts many visitors to campus and he can understand why other universities would want one. “It’s something that’s unique,” Vincent said. “It’s a representative of the university.” Zaanan Wheeler, biological engineering freshman, said Mike’s presence adds spirit to LSU. “There would definitely be a part missing from LSU if we didn’t have a live mascot,” Wheeler said.
—Contact Nicholas Persac at [email protected]