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Local
Desert Tortoise Announces Official Arrival of Spring
Mojave
Max, the famous Southern Nevada desert tortoise,
officially emerged from his burrow at 11:34 a.m. March
26.
Mojave Max is a live
desert tortoise residing at the Red Rock Canyon National
Conservation Area.
Like other Southern Nevada desert tortoises, 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 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 eighth 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 2007. 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 personal game system. 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 receive
a personal computer.
"Now
that Mojave Max has come out of his burrow, spring is
officially here," said Clark County Commission
Chairman Rory Reid, who declared it Mojave Max Day
countywide. "Everyone's favorite tortoise is a
great ambassador of the desert, helping our local school
children understand our environment and how it
works."
Questions
about the live Mojave Max residing at the Red Rock
Canyon National Conservation Area should be directed to
the visitor’s center at 515-5350.
Volunteers, rangers, and members of the public
have been watching Mojave Max’s habitat closely for
the last few weeks, anxiously awaiting his announcement
of spring for Clark County.
The
historical Mojave Max Emergences and contest entries are
as follows:
Mojave
Max’s Emergences by year
| 2000 |
3/15/00 |
12:32
p.m. |
| 2001 |
3/19/01 |
8:30
a.m. |
| 2002 |
3/22/02 |
11:46
a.m. |
| 2003 |
3/7/03 |
10:25
a.m. |
| 2004 |
2/19/04 |
11:14
a.m. |
| 2005 |
2/14/05 |
11:55
a.m. |
| 2006 |
4/3/06 |
11:32
a.m. |
Mojave
Max Emergence Contest Entries by year
| 2000 |
2,000 |
| 2001 |
1,000 |
| 2002 |
2,000 |
| 2003 |
4,000 |
| 2004 |
6,000 |
| 2005 |
5,200 |
| 2006 |
7,800 |
| 2007 |
6,200
(as of March 21) |
More
information is available at www.accessclarkcounty.com.
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