Texas' longtime mascot Bevo received a retirement gift from an unlikely source Thursday.
Arkansas sent flowers to its SWC rival's live mascot on behalf of Tusk, the Russian boar that serves as the Razorbacks' live mascot.
Texas announced the retirement of Bevo XIV on Tuesday, after the Texas longhorn steer was diagnosed with cancer. He had been the Longhorns' mascot since 2004.
Two days after the announcement, Bevo's twitter account posted a picture of the flowers and thanked Tusk for the gift.
The animals represent schools that have a storied rivalry, which dates to their days as Southwest Conference members. The Arkansas-Texas series began in 1894 and has been played five times since the SWC disbanded.
The Razorbacks won the most recent game 31-7 at the Texas Bowl last December. The teams are scheduled to play again in Fayetteville in 2021.
Thank you @Tusk_UA for the retirement gift. Very kind of you to think of me. Best of luck the rest of the season pic.twitter.com/bnTKCEsuOn
— BEVO XIV (@BEVO_XIV) October 15, 2015