With Mojave Maxine Predicting Spring, Who Needs Punxsutawney Phil?

PALM DESERT, CA — Groundhog's Day traditions on the East Coast don't mean much in Southern California, where one local zoo says their tortoise is much better at predicting the coming of spring.

Meet Mojave Maxine.

This prognosticating desert tortoise is thought to be around 47 years old and has made her home at The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert since 1997. When spring truly arrives, she and her tortoise roommates will emerge from brumation—the reptile form of hibernation in burrows underground.

The zoo staff began keeping records of Maxine's emergence in 2009. That year, she came out to enjoy the Palm Desert sunshine at 1:52 p.m. on Feb. 24. The earliest date she poked her head out of her shell was at 10:22 a.m. on Jan. 18, 2021. According to zoo statistics, she last emerged at 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 9, 2023.

With cold and wet weather across Southern California, all eyes are on the tortoise habitat to see what kind of spring we will look forward to.

The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens has made a game of predicting when Mojave Maxine will appear, opening it up to school children and people worldwide.

According to Dr. James Danoff-Burg, Vice President of Conservation at the zoo, the contest is a way of engaging with classrooms across Southern California.

"Mojave Maxine's emergence serves as a unique and fun barometer of our local climate," Danoff-Burg said. "The annual contest is an innovative way for students to engage in environmental education on desert tortoises and the importance of their role in desert ecology."

What does a tortoise know about the seasons? A lot, according to the zoo.

"It's not truly spring at The Living Desert until Maxine emerges and makes her first debut of the year," a Living Desert Zoo spokesperson told Patch.

Maxine and her tortoise roommates typically enter brumation around Thanksgiving, when the weather gets colder. The reptiles are expected to emerge between late January and mid-February, and they have gained so much popularity that the zoo now hosts an online contest for students (grades K-12).

School children can guess when Maxine will wake from brumation to win a field trip for their class, according to the zoo.

"Even if you don't qualify for the contest, drop a guess in the comments!" they suggested. "When do you think we will first see Mojave Maxine in 2024?"

Let them know your best guess at www.livingdesert.org.

Here's a glance at some of the littlest tortoises at The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens.