BATON ROUGE, La., May 19 (UPI) -- Louisiana State University officials are mourning the school's feline mascot, Mike the Tiger V, who died this week from renal failure at the age of 17.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune said fans of the Bengal tiger remembered the famed animal Saturday, one day after it failed to respond to emergency surgery at the LSU Veterinary School.
"He was a beautiful animal," New Orleans lawyer Eric Person said. "It's sad because he is the symbol of the university and LSU sports. He meant a lot to a lot of people."
The animal's caretaker, Dr. David Baker, said Mike had recently been diagnosed idiopathic chylothorax and required the surgery.
The newspaper said that while receiving anesthesia the animal succumb to kidney failure.
The tiger had been given to the university in 1989 and during its tenure as the school's mascot, LSU's football program won one national championship and five national titles in baseball.
