Let’s face it: the Golden Eagles play some pretty strangely named opponents.

Everyone knows that Dragons (Central) aren’t real and Devils (Bellwood) aren’t blue, but how many people honestly know what a “bearcat” (Huntingdon) is?

We asked students at Tyrone and here’s what they told us:

“It’s like when a bear and a bobcat breed. It’s a monster,” says freshman Levi Walk.

“It’s a cat that’s a bear.  Is that right?” said senior Bry Taylor.

“Is it a cat with a bear face?” asked senior Blake Brooks.

“Is it a rare feline that resides along the U.S.-Mexican border? I don’t know!” said junior Adam Zook.

So there you have it.  No one at Tyrone seems to know what a bearcat is.

So as a public service we would like to educate the Tyrone community on bearcats.

According to Wikipedia (everyone’s go-to source) the binturong, also known as the bearcat, is an omnivorous mammal native only to south Asia.  Bearcats are found from India to Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and China, and from Sumatra and Java in Indonesia to Palawan in the Philippines.

Despite its name, a bearcat is neither a bear nor a cat.  It is not native to the United States, let alone central Pennsylvania.

So this raises an important question: What is a high school in Huntingdon doing with this crazy animal as its mascot?

Moreover, why doesn’t Huntingdon’s bearcat mascot even remotely resemble an actual bearcat?

Let’s be honest, Huntingdon’s Bearcat mascot looks more like a mountain lion than a bearcat.

Mountain lions are related to cats, but not to bears.

So apparently Huntingdon doesn’t really know what a bearcat is either.

Bearcats are actually similar in appearance to otters, just with more fur and an overall bear-y presence.

The Huntingdon Otters actually makes more sense for a town along the Juniata River.

Hopefully this short public service announcement will help to convince Huntingdon to change to a more fitting and proper school mascot.

Go Otters!