Clemson, Auburn, LSU, and Missouri are coming together for quite the worthy cause. The four power conference universities will collaborate on an effort to help protect the wild tiger population around the world, putting their resources to good use to help save the animal that serves as the inspiration and symbol of their respective sports teams, including the college football programs.
The universities have become the leading forces for the brand new U.S. Tiger University Consortium, which will work to help protect the tiger popultion and work to issue land-grant institutions with the cause. The consortium was initiated by Clemson president James P. Clements, a member of the Global Tiger Initiative Council. The combined efforts will fall in line with attempting to strive for the Global Tiger Forum’s global goal of doubling the tiger population by 2022. It is estimated there are roughly 3,900 wild tigers living around the world. A reduction in livable space for wild tigers and poaching have helped contribute to the downward trend of the wild tiger population over the years.
“Students, faculty and alumni chant ‘Go Tigers’ on a daily basis, but not many know the truth about the animal we hold so dear,” Brett Wright, dean of Clemson University College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences said in a released statement. “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.”
“Each of our institutions possess various academic disciplines important to the future of tiger conservation and protection,” dean of Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences Janaki Alavalapati said. “This is an obvious example of the need for multi-disciplinary contribution not just across colleges and departments but across universities.”
This is a nice effort for these schools with tremendous resources to come together to work on. Save those tigers!
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