University of California Irvine Parent Guide
The Anteater Mascot
Voting down an eagle, a unicorn and a seahawk, UC Irvine students elected the anteater their official mascot on November 30, 1965. Inspired by Johnny Hart’s popular comic strip, “B.C.,” UCI students were quick to adopt the “Zot!” coined by the cartoonist to describe the sound an anteater’s tongue makes as it zaps unsuspecting ants.
More than 45 years later, the anteater mascot, now named Peter, prevails and thrives. A sign at Orange County’s John Wayne International Airport reads, “Welcome to Anteater Country.” Student bills are paid through Zot Accounts and UCI sports fans refer to themselves collectively as ’Eater Nation. The campus convenience store is called Zot-n-Go, e-mail announcements to the campus community are ZotMails and an emergency message from UCI to cell phones is a zotALERT.
Tracing Peter’s pedigree: read about Peter’s history
