The roar of LSU is silent until the football season.

Mike V, who oversaw 37 SEC championships, 23 various track and field titles, five baseball national championships and one in football as mascot from 1990-2007 is dead because of complications from emergency surgery.

The Bengal tiger mascot had idiopathic chylothorax that caused his lungs to fill with fluid More than 10 liters of fluid were removed from his lungs in the surgery, but as a result of the anesthesia, his kidneys failed and he died at age 17. The average lifespan for a bengal tiger like Mike in captivity is 14-18 years, according to the LSU Veterinary School.

Mike was born Oct. 19, 1989, and came to LSU four motnhs later from the Animal Zoological Park in Moultrie, Ala.. Though a cutsey cub, he made his debut as LSU's mascot after being introduced at the LSU-Alabama basketball game on Feb. 21, 1990, which featured freshman Shaq O'Neal and sophomore Chris Jackson. LSU win 75-69.

The men's basketball team went to four straight NCAA tournaments with Mike as mascot before falling on hard times. But as Mike went into his 10th year, the football program began its best-ever era in November of 1999 with the hiring of Nick Saban, who won a national championship, two SEC championships and reached four New Year's Day bowls from 2000-2004.

A $3 million, 15,000-square foot realistic habitat opened for Mike in August of 2005 at the site of his roiginal, much smaller home near the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

From his new home, Mike watched new football coach Les Miles replace Saban, who went to the Mimai Dolphins in 2005 and is now Alabama's coach. Miles has gone 22-4 in two seasons with a pair of top five finishes. Mike  also witnessed the LSU basketball team reach the Final Four for the first time in 20 years in 2006 as well as the women's basketball team make four straight Final Fours.

"Mike V was a noble mascot who was loved by Tigers fans young and old," said LSU athletic director Skip Bertman. "Mike has reigned over a magnificent era of of Tigers athletics and he is missed by LSU fans the world over."

LSU caretakers said Mike had the most amiable personality of the mascots to date.

Dr. David Baker of the LSU Veterinary School noticed Mike was struggling to breathe on May 15 and had him brought in om Wednesday of last week.

"He was a great mascot," said Baker/ "We had him since he was a cub, so he was hand raised and was always very easy to deal with/ We'll miss him."

Mike had been losing weight and muscle over the past year and a half and Baker decided to semi-retire him last March. The mascot was not going to be induced into roaring before football games in Tiger Stadium.

"He didn't seem to be into it anymore," said Baker. "It was more bothersome to him."

He was going to remain as the mascot, however, because he was still in good condition for his age.

Baker said the search for Mike VI would be completed bu next football season. He plans to find another Bengal cub at a refuge or from a private breeder, but Baker did not seem to be in a great hurry.

Mike V will be cremated.

LSU's first mascot, Mike 1, was mascot from 1936-56 and died of pneumonua at 19. Mike 1V reigned from 1976-90 and lived to be 21 until old age caught up with him in 1995.

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