Stepping up to the Mike

There is little doubt who's the king of this jungle.

A broad oak tree. A manmade rock hill. A waterfall. And for those warm Louisiana summers, his own swimming pool.

Mike the Tiger never had it so good.

Officially, he's Mike V, the fifth in a 69-year line of Bengal tiger mascots owned and cared for by LSU. The current mascot is a teenager, having celebrated his 16th birthday just two weeks ago.

Before each LSU home game, Mike is transferred into a trailer cage for the short ride across the street to Tiger Stadium. His handlers park the cage just outside the visiting team's locker room during pregame warmups.

Then, Mike and the LSU cheerleaders circle the playing field, stopping in front of the student section where Mike, on cue, traditionally delivers a lusty roar.

His permanent home, just outside of the north end of the stadium, is brand-new. Funded entirely through donations from LSU fans, the new habitat is 15,000 square feet and overflows with plants and assorted tigerly creature comforts. There are no bars in the traditional "tiger cage" sense.

Rather, like many modern municipal zoos, the new habitat uses wire netting and natural barriers to protect visitors to Mike V's home. His story, and those of bengal tigers, in general, are told at various points around the habitat's perimeter.

He's a typical cat, though. Some of the nation's finest zoo planners and LSU veterinary school minds combined to design Mike's new home. So where was he on a sunny Sunday, before the Saints-Dolphins football game?

Sleeping on a shady sidewalk, tucked away in a hard-to-see corner. No roars today. Just yawns.