Mojave Max is back! Tortoise finally emerges, the latest in 25 years
Spring is finally here in Las Vegas.
Mojave Max has emerged, breaking his record for the latest emergence in the 25-year history of the Mojave Max Emergence Contest.
Max, the desert tortoise mascot of the Clark County Desert Conservation Program and Southern Nevada’s weather prognosticator, emerged from his burrow on Thursday at 2:09 p.m., the county said in a news release.
Max’s emergence for many Las Vegas residents marks the beginning of spring in the Mojave Desert.
“It is only fitting that as we celebrate 25-years of the Mojave Max Emergence Contest, a new record was set,” Marci Henson, director of the Clark County Department of Environment and Sustainability, said in a news release.
Max was spotted earlier this week awake in his burrow, according to his Instagram, but wasn’t yet ready to leave — until Thursday.
This year, Max was in brumation — hibernation for reptiles — with two other tortoises in a deep burrow. These were similar conditions to 2023, the last time he broke his previous brumation record, after going into a deep burrow for brumation with two female tortoises. That year, he emerged on April 24 at 3:40 p.m. The record had not been broken prior to that date since 2012, according to the program.
“The recent extreme fluctuation in temperatures, rain and wind contributed to Mojave Max’s late emergence this year,” the county said. “Because of these things, and the fact he was sharing a burrow with two othet tortoises who entered burmation after he did, Mojave Max shattered his previous record by 14 days.”
The Las Vegas Valley saw a wide range of temperatures in April, with the highest high at 96 degrees and lowest low at 44 degrees, according to National Weather Service data. May has also been unseasonably wet and cold with a record-breaking 1.44 inches of rain recorded for the month.
Last year, Max had his second-latest emergence in contest history when he came out of his burrow on April 23 at 3:09 p.m.
Max’s earliest emergence in contest history was on Valentine’s Day in 2005.
Contest celebrates 25 years
For the first time this year, in honor of the contest’s history, the program invited all county residents to enter their guesses in a contest separate from than the one traditionally participated in only by Clark County School District elementary school students.
This year, more than 3,600 guesses were received from students for the contest, and more than 1,500 guesses from Clark County residents.
The winner of both contests has not yet been determined, the county said.
The student winner will be awarded a year-long family membership to the Springs Preserve, an “America the Beautiful” year-long family pass to national parks and recreation areas and a laptop. The student and their entire class will also receive medals, T-shirts and a trophy for their school, along with a field trip to the Springs Preserve with a pizza party and a meet-and-greet with the real Mojave Max tortoise.
Contact Taylor Lane at tlane@reviewjournal.com.
