SoCal Students Eyeing Palm Desert's Mojave Maxine

PALM DESERT, CA — A 42-year-old desert tortoise at The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens is once again a main attraction for Southern California students.

Otherwise known as Mojave Maxine, she "determines" the arrival of spring when she emerges from her annual brumation (hibernation). The groundhog of the West, Maxine's first 2020 appearance will indicate longer, warmer days ahead — or so the legend goes.

But when the famous dame makes her grand entrance is a guessing game. Students in grades K-12 from nine counties throughout Southern California are invited to predict when she will emerge. The first entry received from each county that's closest to the exact day and time wins a $50 gift certificate, a classroom visit from a desert tortoise, Mojave Maxine t-shirts for their entire class and a $100 gift certificate for their teacher, according to zoo officials.

Students from Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties are invited to participate in the contest.

Maxine and her fellow desert tortoises typically enter brumation around Thanksgiving. Their bodies know when to go to sleep based on the outside temperatures and the change in daylight hours, zoo officials explained.

“Mojave Maxine is a great ambassador for The Living Desert and each year she helps educate countless people as to the peril of the threatened desert tortoise,” said Dr. James Danoff-Burg, director of conservation. “This annual contest is a fun way to get students involved and it gives them the opportunity to learn how to help protect this species.”

In 2019, more than 1,900 students submitted predictions prior to Maxine’s star-studded arrival on January 29 at 8:38 a.m.

The guessing contest is currently open and will run until Maxine emerges from her burrow. A live video feed will be available online to watch for when Mojave Maxine appears. For more information and to enter the contest, visit livingdesert.org/mojave-maxine.