Someone Should Check On Mojave Max (He’s Still Hibernating)
We’ve all been there. The alarm goes off, but we just don’t want to get up. You hit snooze once, twice, 14 times… Right now, that is Mojave Max. Southern Nevada‘s much handsomer version of Punxsutawney Phil has yet to emerge from his deep winter sleep, which is a record for the shelled one.
Max has a nice pad underneath the Springs Preserve that he ducks into when the temperatures start to dip. This is called his “brumation” (another word for hibernation). Because lets face it, who wants to deal with the wind chill. Especially this winter where temperatures and wild weather brought a shock to all of our systems. Well, Max has decided to stay put for a little longer due to the relatively cold temps we’ve been having as of late. Today, for example, is expected to be 10 degrees cooler than average.
When does Mojave Max usually poke his head out?
The Clark County Desert Conservation Program has kept track of Mojave Max’s historical “emergences” since 2000. As a matter of fact, they let kids bet on it! Because, Vegas.
His earliest emergence date was a lovely one. Back in 2005, he came out just before noon on Valentine’s Day. That’s one of only two February emergences in 23 years. His latest emergence dated back to 2012, where our favorite reptile came out to play on April 17th. Of course, that record has now been beaten.
As far as his average, it seems like it hovers right around April 1st.
We have a theory…
Maybe Mojave Max is staying inside his burrow a little longer because he’s hot and heavy in a throple. The Clark County Desert Conservation Program admitted he is down there burrowing with two female tortoises. Max. You dog.
Listen to Aimee+Shawn weekday mornings from 6-10 on 102.7 VGS
Follow the station on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok!
Follow Aimee+Shawn on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok!
