Tusk (mascot)

During the actual game, Tusk is moved into Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium where he can be seen by the entire crowd.

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.

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 animal mascots in the SEC, including Uga (Georgia Bulldogs), Mike the Tiger (LSU Tigers), Bully (Mississippi State Bulldogs), Sir Big Spur (South Carolina Gamecocks), Smokey (Tennessee Volunteers), Bevo (Texas Longhorns), and Reveille (Texas A&M Aggies), plus live animals as mascot-like symbols War Eagle (Auburn Tigers) and Boomer and Sooner (Oklahoma Sooners).

All of the Russian boars bearing the name of Tusk so far have lived on a rural farm, just outside Dardanelle, Arkansas, and cared for by the Stokes family.

[3] Tusk I then served as the Razorback mascot for eight years, spending his first four football seasons at the Little Rock Zoo before being moved to the Tyson Foods Farm in Springdale, Arkansas, in 2001.

[2] He was described by his caretakers as the most docile and friendly-to-humans Tusk up to that point, largely as a result of being raised and handled frequently by humans since his birth.

[5] Tusk IV made news for such things as sending flowers to retiring Texas mascot Bevo upon a diagnosis of cancer.

In addition to the Tusk lineage, the live mascot tradition dates back to the 1960s and a number of hogs have represented the university through the years.