Where are they now? Updates and briefings on past stories

The University of Texas has Bevo, the Longhorn. The University of Colorado has Ralphie the Buffalo. The University of Houston has Shasta the Cougar. Baylor University has Joy and Lady the Bears. But what about Fairfield’s Lucas, the Stag?

A recent suggestion to have a live Stag mascot appear at sporting events and live on campus was well-received by students.

But unlike other universities, FU may not be the appropriate place for a live Stag.

Bevo, the longhorn steer of the University of Texas, made its first appearance in 1916 when two cowboys dragged the half-starved, frightened longhorn onto the field during halftime in front of 15,000 fans during the annual football game against Texas A’M. Although Bevo I died, Texas has since had 19 replacements.

At the University of Colorado, Ralphie, the fourth female buffalo mascot since 1966, leads the football team onto the field at the beginning of the first and second halves. According to the university Web site, it inspires thousands of fans to break out in the “Buffalo Stomp.” The buffalo lives off-campus and weighs 1,300 pounds.

Unlike Colorado, Baylor University’s pair of Bear mascots, Jody and Lady, live in a shelter enclosed by a chain-link fence surrounded by concrete moat in the center of its Waco, Tx, campus.

As a pair, the bears make approximately 80 appearances a year. However, Baylor only sends one of the two to home football and basketball games, elementary schools and alumni events, according to a 2002 U-Wire article.

Although Colorado, Texas and Baylor have had successful live mascots, some schools are concerned with the danger and mistreatment of having such animals in a campus setting.

When the University of Houston’s fifth cougar mascot Shasta V died in 1989, school president George Manger decided to end the 42-year tradition, despite opposition to house a live cougar on campus since the 70s. Manger felt the possibility of the wild animal injuring the public was too great a liability for the university, according to an April 2002, U-Wire article.