UCI’s anteater shows he’s no ‘chicken’ in Conan O’Brien mascot makeover

“Zot! Zot! Zot!” is the battle cry of UC Irvine’s mascot, Peter the Anteater. To most, it is an unfamiliar sound from an unusual animal.

But with help from the UCI men’s basketball team’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament last month, Peter’s on the national map. The long-snouted one took a star turn recently on Conan O’Brien’s late-night talk show after the television host visited UCI to shoot a five-minute video with him called “Conan Improves UC Irvine’s School Mascot.”

In March, producers of TBS’ “Conan” asked UCI if Peter was free to film for O’Brien’s show. Campus administrators sent the news to the mascot’s caretaker, UCI Athletics, and the department was thrilled.

“When Conan showed up on our campus, we couldn’t believe he was actually here,” said Maria Sop, assistant director of community relations for UCI Athletics. “Everyone on campus is so excited that UCI is being put onstage for something so fun.”

During O’Brien’s visit to the university’s Crawford Court, he and Peter faced off in a friendly push-up competition. Then Peter was given a mascot makeover as a “tiger chicken” complete with a trident and a head resembling O’Brien’s.

But in the end, Peter remained true to his original image.

UCI’s team lost its only game of the tournament, a nail-biter March 20 against Louisville. But Peter and the Anteaters showed that together, they zot.

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Peter meets Conan

To watch the video of Peter the Anteater and Conan O’Brien, go to teamcoco.com/video/ucirvine-mascot-remote.