What Is The Origin Of The Dexter Bearcats’ Mascot?

The Cincinnati Bearcats mascot was created in 1914 by cartoonist John Reece for the University News. The mascot represents the University of Cincinnati and its passionate fan base across the country. The term “UC Bearcat” dates back to 1914, with the first appearance appearing in the campus newspaper following a football game between UC and the University of Kentucky. The Bearcat’s nickname dates back to former fullback Leonard K. “Teddy” Baehr. The first time the name was used was during a cheer.

The Dexter Bearcats, located in Dexter, Missouri, have become one of the hottest up-and-coming college football programs in America. With Lucy’s retirement in 2019, a new mascot, Lucille, has been chosen to become the official live mascot of the university. The Dexter High School Store offers thousands of custom Bearcats clothing and merch, including t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, jerseys, bags, backpacks, and other accessories.

The Bearcat mascot is not initially inspired by the animal but comes from the name of a student-athlete. During a 1914 football game between UC and UK, a chant was created to honor UC star player Leonard K. “Teddy” Baehr. The Bearcats nickname dates back to former fullback Leonard K. “Teddy” Baehr.

What is the mascot for the University of Cincinnati?

The Bearcat mascot and “Lucy” from the Cincinnati Zoo bonded during the 100th birthday party of the name Bearcats in October 2014. The image continued through the 1970s, but by the 1980s, the Bearcat had a snarl return. Cartoonist Paddy Reece drew his bearcat for the campus newspaper in 1914, not thinking ahead to the future mascot. He wanted a play on words for Teddy Baehr in UC’s football battle against the University of Kentucky’s Wildcats. The result was a “bear-cat”, a term familiar to many Americans from Tin Pan Alley music and automobiles.

There was no concerted effort to portray the bearcat in the years immediately following Reece’s cartoon, so the idea of what a UC Bearcat should look like was rather nebulous. In 1922, UC’s Bearcat was indeed a bear, rearing up on its hind legs with a snarl on its face and a giant “C” behind it.

Why did Cincinnati choose bearcat?

In 1914, Norman Lyon, a cheerleader at the University of Cincinnati, created the nickname Bearcat during a football game against the Kentucky Wildcats. He chanted in support of Baehr, referring to him as a “Baehr-cat”. In the November 1914 issue of the University News, cartoonist John Reece depicted Cincinnati Bearcat chasing Kentucky Wildcat. Greg Hand, former UC associate vice president of public relations, discovered the mascot’s origin in 1997 while researching the university’s earliest years of basketball for a book co-authored with Grace.

Who was the original UC Bearcat?

The idea of a UC Bearcat as a mascot began in 1922 with a bear incarnation with a snarl on its face and a giant “C” behind it. This bear-like image was used for several years, even using a live bear cub mascot from the Cincinnati Zoo. By the end of World War II, the Bearcat’s appearance changed from a lifelike animal to a cartoon of a squat growling bear with long claws and whiskers. The Bearcat was colored UC red on decals, posters, and promotional material.

By the 1950s, a select student began dressing as a mascot for football and basketball games and campus events. The costume featured a Bearcat in a fan-friendly mask with a smile on its face, no longer fierce and dangerous but tame and accommodating. The campus yearbook, The Cincinnatian, carried cartoons of this new Bearcat, showing it in various student and professorial surroundings. By the 1980s, the Bearcat had even more feline features, with the snarl return. A binturong from the zoo was leashed around at games for the first time.

UC recognized the need for three renditions of the mascot: one that emphasized both “bear” and “cat” characteristics, a second cartoon image that appeared growly but later turned into an angry kitten, geared towards children and souvenir sales, and the third, a more abstract C-paw graphic, representing the competitive nature of the sports teams.

Where did the Bearcat mascot come from?

The term “UC Bearcat” originated in 1914 and was first used in a campus newspaper following a football game between the University of Cincinnati and the University of Kentucky Wildcats. The name was inspired by a cheer and play on words for UC star player Leonard K. “Teddy” Baehr. A chant created during the game, “They may be Wildcats, but we have a Baehr-cat on our side”, led to the name being memorialized in a cartoon published in the student newspaper following Cincinnati’s win. The cartoon depicted a Kentucky Wildcat being chased by a creature labeled “Cincinnati Bear Cats”.

Is a bearcat a cat or a bear?

The Binturong is a species of the Viverridae family, found in rainforests of Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Palawan Island. Its original name is lost due to the extinct local language. A live Binturong has been living at the Cincinnati Zoo and has appeared at UC Athletics events. From 2008 to 2019, Lucy the Bearcat was the live mascot, cheering on the Bearcats at over 200 sporting events. In 2019, Lucille, a Palawan Binturong native to the same island in the Philippines, was chosen as the official live mascot of the University of Cincinnati.

Why is it called a bearcat?

The Binturong, also known as a bearcat, is a carnivore native to Southeast Asia, found in rainforests of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. They are known for their cat-like face and bear-like body, and prefer dense forests with high tree canopies. They sleep high in the forest canopy and bask in the sun, with their tail used for climbing. Binturongs are primarily arboreal creatures, but can form small groups of two or three individuals. They are primarily solitary animals, but can occasionally form small groups.

Why is binturong called bearcat?

A binturong, also known as bearcats, is a carnivore with a face resembling a cat’s and a body resembling a bear’s. They have long, shaggy black hair, stiff white whiskers, and a prehensile tail. They are related to civets and fossas but look more like giant dust mops and smell like popcorn. Their hair color can vary from black to brown, with white, silver, or rust on the tips giving them a grizzled appearance. They eat mostly fruit and have long ear tufts and reddish-brown eyes.

Binturongs spend most of their time in trees, but they usually have to climb down to get from tree to tree due to their lack of acrobatic abilities. They walk flat-footed and can turn their ankles 180 degrees, allowing their claws to grip when climbing down a tree headfirst.

Do bearcats still exist?

The binturong, also known as the bearcat, is a viverrid species native to South and Southeast Asia. It is rare in its range and has been assessed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List due to a declining population. The binturong is the only species in the genus Arctictis. Its common name in Borneo is “Binturong” and is related to the Western Malayo-Polynesian root “ma-tuRun”. In Riau, it is called “benturong” and “tenturun”. The scientific name Arctictis means “bear-weasel” and comes from the Greek words arkt- “bear” and iktis “weasel”.

What is Bengals real mascot?

The Cincinnati Bengals mascot, Who Dey, was observed on two occasions prior to the commencement of the aforementioned games. The first observation occurred on October 15, 2023, prior to the game against the Seattle Seahawks, while the second observation took place on September 29, 2022, prior to the game against the Miami Dolphins. Both observations were conducted at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.

What country is the Bearcat from?

The binturong, also known as bearcat, is a unique species of tree-dwelling mammal found in northeast India, Bangladesh, the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, and the Philippines. Its unique genus features a prehensile tail, purrs and cleans itself like a cat, and a scent resembling buttered popcorn. The binturong is threatened by habitat loss due to logging and agribusiness, particularly the oil palm industry. It is also hunted for bushmeat, traditional medicine, and the pet trade.

Local coffee, made from beans that pass through a binturong’s digestive system, is also valued. Binturong numbers in the wild are unknown, but they eat strangler fig fruit and are important seed spreaders. More study is urgently needed to determine how to conserve the species. The binturong is part bear, part cat, and has a monkey’s tail, making it a distinct genus within the Viverridae family.

Can a binturong be a pet?

The binturong, a bird of prey, faces significant threats from habitat loss and forest degradation due to logging and conversion to non-forest land-uses. The species is particularly vulnerable in the lowlands of the Sundaic region, where habitat loss is severe. In China, deforestation and logging practices have fragmented suitable habitats. The binturong is captured for wildlife trade in the Philippines and South Vietnam, and is often displayed as a caged live carnivore in Laos.

In Malaysia, the Orang Asli keep binturongs as pets, and they are sometimes kept captive for kopi luwak production. The binturong is listed as critically endangered in China, with complete protection in Bangladesh, partial protection in Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia, and no protection in Brunei. The binturong is also included in CITES Appendix III and Schedule I of the Indian Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.