Will they be cuddly or fierce? Cute or predatory?

These are just some of the many characteristics students at the University of Colorado Denver have had to consider in creating the personality of their new mascot — the lynx.

The Student Government Association has spent the past year leading the effort to create a new mascot for the urban campus, gathering input from students, alumni, faculty and staff.

The lynx was selected from a list of 15 choices — including the harvester ant, the fourteeners or the Mighty Mastodons, SGA president Gordon Hamby said.

Two choices — Brewers and Golden Elk — were removed from the list because of their alcoholic undertones, Hamby said.

“I think it is important that students have an identity for their school that they can connect with,” Hamby said. “It is something that creates a sense of pride and a connection to the school that should last over the years.”

Hamby said students at the Denver campus typically do not identify with Ralphie the Buffalo, mascot for CU Denver’s sister school in Boulder.

“We see the buffalo on the license plates, and we want that same sense of pride and community,” Hamby said. “At this point, a lot of the focus is to have the mascot relate to our academics and urban campus more than athletics.”

A survey looking for input on the mascot — which has yet to be given a name or gender — was completed at the end of August. The student association will use those answers to create the mascot’s personality and physical appearance.

The lynx will be christened in October. Performer tryouts will be held in November, and the official premiere of the new mascot will be in January.