Mojave Max Has Emerged
Local Desert Tortoise Proclaims Spring Weather
Mojave Max, the famous Southern Nevada desert tortoise, officially emerged from his burrow at 2:37 p.m. Tuesday, April 7.
Mojave Max is a live desert tortoise. Like other Southern Nevada reptiles, he enters a burrow to brumate (the reptilian form of hibernation) every winter and emerges every spring.
Mojave Max’s emergence marks the beginning of spring-like weather in Southern Nevada. Warmer temperatures, longer daylight hours and an internal clock are factors known to contribute to his emergence every year.
As part of the tenth annual Mojave Max Emergence Contest, students have been studying Mojave Desert weather, temperatures, and conditions to scientifically estimate when they believed Mojave Max would first emerge from his burrow in 2009. They entered their guesses on-line at www.mojavemax.com. The entries are being tabulated and the official winner will be announced soon. The winning student will receive prizes including a year-long pass to federally managed fee areas and a laptop computer. The winner’s entire class will receive a field trip to Mojave Max's habitat, Mojave Max Olympic-style medals and T-shirts, while the winner’s teacher will also receive a laptop computer.
More information is available at www.accessclarkcounty.com.
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Clark County is a dynamic and innovative organization dedicated to providing top-quality service with integrity, respect and accountability. With jurisdiction over the world-famous Las Vegas Strip and covering an area the size of New Jersey, Clark is the nation’s 15th-largest county and provides extensive regional services to more than 2 million citizens and 44 million visitors a year. Included are the nation’s 7th-busiest airport, air quality compliance, social services and the state’s largest public hospital, University Medical Center. The county also provides municipal services that are traditionally provided by cities to almost 900,000 residents in the unincorporated area. Those include fire protection, roads and other public works, parks and recreation, and planning and development. In 2009, Clark County celebrates a “century of service.”