FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KFSM) — Former Razorbacks’ live mascot Tusk IV passed away Sunday (Jan. 12) at his home in Dardanelle at the age of 10.
Tusk IV retired at the end of the 2019 school year.
It’s with a heavy heart we announce that Tusk IV, who retired at the end of the 2019 school year, passed away yesterday at his home in Dardanelle. His legacy will continue to live on through Tusk V (@Tusk_UA) and the entire Razorback Family. pic.twitter.com/U5dAthsOyx
— Arkansas Razorbacks (@ArkRazorbacks) January 13, 2020
Tusk IV son, Tusk V, has taken the role as the school’s new official live mascot after his father’s retirement.
The Tusk family comes from the Stokes Family Farm in Dardanelle, Arkansas.
They are Russian boar which closely resembles the type of “wild band of razorback hogs,” first described by then Arkansas head football coach Hugo Bezdek in 1909.
In 1910 University of Arkansas students voted to officially adopt the new nickname changing the mascot from the Cardinals to the Razorbacks.
