Tusk (mascot)

Tusk is the name of the official live mascot for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks. The current live mascot is Tusk VI. All Tusks so far have been male (female swine do not have tusks) and from the same lineage.

Tusk travels to every home football game at Fayetteville or Little Rock, certain away football games such as the annual Southwest Classic game against Texas A&M in Dallas and some bowl games, occasional home basketball and baseball games, as well as other select events (such as pep rallies). Tusk is put into a spacious cardinal red holding pen which travels through the crowds, with the cheerleaders on the upper level, making him a crowd favorite. During the actual game, Tusk is moved into Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium where he can be seen by the entire crowd. Tusk has been trained to give kisses to people who are brave enough to do so.^[1]

Tusk occupies a 9,000-square-foot (840 m²) indoor facility and a 7,000-square-foot (650 m²) fenced outdoor area just outside Dardanelle, Arkansas. He uses the indoor facility to escape the heat and sun, and the outdoor facility provides him the opportunity to slop in several mud holes. One of the first things that Tusk does each day is to go straight to his mud hole for a mud bath. Since Razorbacks are extremely muscular and have very little body fat, the mud keeps him cooler throughout the day and protects him from the sun and insects. Before any official functions he must attend, Tusk is given a shampoo and wash to make sure he looks his best for the public. In 2008, Razorback Athletics created the Tusk Fund to help provide financial assistance for the maintenance and upkeep of the live mascot program.

Tusk is one of several live mascots in the SEC, including UGA, the Georgia Bulldogs mascot, Reveille, the Texas A&M Aggies rough collie mascot, Smokey, the bluetick coonhound of the Tennessee Volunteers, Bully, the Mississippi State English Bulldog mascot, Mike the Tiger of LSU, War Eagle of Auburn, and Sir Big Spur, the official live gamecock of the South Carolina Gamecocks. There are only a few other live lineage mascots in the United States.