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Auburn, Clemson, LSU, Missouri form consortium to help protect wild tigers

Stacy Revere / Getty Images Sport / Getty

A great number of schools boast a tiger as their official mascot, and a few of those Power-5 programs have banded together to help protect their living namesake.

Auburn, Clemson, LSU, and Missouri have all joined forces to form what will be known as the U.S. Tiger University Consortium, a group whose efforts will primarily be centered around research and awareness, according to Alex Scarborough of ESPN.

"Students, faculty and alumni chant 'Go Tigers' on a daily basis, but not many know the truth about the animal we hold so dear," said Brett Wright, dean of Clemson University College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences in an official release from the university. "These universities share the tiger mascot and benefit from that majestic symbol of strength, dignity, and beauty, so they share a moral responsibility to apply all of our resources to save the animal that inspires that symbol."

Clemson president James Clements spearheaded the initiative, while also serving on the Global Tiger Initiative Council.

Janaki Alavalapati, dean of Auburn's School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, believes each university can contribute a number of resources to assist in the protection of wild tigers.

"Each of our institutions possess various academic disciplines important to the future of tiger conservation and protection," Alavalapati said in a release. "This is an obvious example of the need for multi-disciplinary contribution, not just across colleges and departments, but across universities."

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