Nittany Lion print foots too many toes

By DAVID SMITH
Collegian Staff Writer

The Nittany Lion has too many toes.

The five-toed Nittany Lion paw print can be found in several stores and on a variety of merchandise in State College.

The tigers of Clemson University in South Carolina have the trademark for the four-toed design, said Jean Barrett, coordinator for licensing programs.

Because of this, no other school can use the four-toed print on any merchandise.

Penn State has the trademarks for the five-toed design and the three-toed design.

"I always wondered why they had five toes," said Erin Neal, manager of Wild Card, 346 E. College Ave.

The store sells several gift items bearing the paw print.

The anatomically incorrect paw print can be found on T-shirts, shorts, shot glasses, key chains and refrigerator magnets.

"We tell our licensees they can use either (the three- or five-toed design)," Barrett said.

Licensing for Penn State is managed by the Atlanta-based Collegiate Licensing Company.

Manufacturers who wish to make Penn State merchandise must send an application to Collegiate Licensing, and the approval process typically takes three months, Barrett said.

Richard Yahner, professor of wildlife conservation, said he never noticed the lion's paw print had the incorrect number of toes.

"I never really paid attention to it, I guess," Yahner said.

Yahner said other North American cats, such as the bobcat and the house cat have four-toed prints, which is a fact that many cat owners may already know.

"You may have seen house cat prints in the snow," Yahner said.

"The print has four toes and a pad," he added.

Yahner said cats and dogs actually have five toes, but one toe is reduced or much smaller than the others and does not show up in prints.

Abby Brown (junior-biology) said she was unaware of the special nature of the lion paw print.

"I guess Nittany is a special breed of lion so it has an extra toe," she said.