Angel had a strong connection to LSU

As Angel Reese prepares to leave the LSU Tigers women’s basketball team to embark on her new path in the WNBA, she couldn’t step off campus in Baton Rouge without wishing goodbye to one tiger in particular.

The emotional moment was not for the faint of heart.

No, her favorite LSU Tiger was not Flau’jae Johnson or Olivia Dunne. It was a real, live tiger named Mike.

“Oh my gosh,” Reese said with a heavy heart as she watched Mike the Tiger stroll regally past, realizing she took him for granted over the past two years.

“I’ll miss being able to see a live tiger on campus every day,” the projected top-10 WNBA Draft pick wrote on her Instagram story.

Mike The Tiger is an LSU favorite

According to the LSU school website, Mike the Tiger is the only live tiger living on a college campus in the U.S. There is no fee to see Mike the Tiger, and he even has his own social media accounts.

The Tiger Habitat is located on North Stadium Drive in Baton Rouge; the habitat sits between the Bernie Moore Track Stadium and the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, where Reese played home games for Kim Mulkey‘s team.

It is across the street from Tiger Stadium, where Mike appears before LSU football games.

It’s a good thing Angel Reese went to see him when she did. The following day, he had to stay inside due to the threat of bad weather.

With her time on campus winding down before the WNBA Draft on Monday, April 15, Angel made sure that she didn’t leave without seeing Mike one last time.