The little girl is 3-year-old Taylor Piper of Prairieville. Her dad Shawn took her to see the new tiger after a good day at school.



"He kind of took to her pretty quickly," Piper explained. "She would run around the whole enclosure, and everywhere she went he would follow her."



Even though Taylor caught the eye of the tiger, she told her dad she was never scared. Mike jumped along with her through the glass of his habitat.



"I've seen probably at least three or four (LSU) tigers in my lifetime now, and he was more interactive than all of them," Piper said.



A spokesperson for LSU's School of Veterinary Medicine said Mike's habitat was designed to let visitors get up close and personal with the tiger. Guests are asked not to bang excessively on the glass, and pets are prohibited in the habitat area.



Mike VII can usually be seen in his habitat between 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. daily.