LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Las Vegas' celebrity weather predicting desert tortoise Mojave Max finally left his Springs Preserve burrow on Thursday, marking a new record for his latest emergence from brumation ever.
WATCH | He usually predicts spring weather, but what can Max tell us about summer?
Families flock to the Springs Preserve for a lot of reasons on a warm mid-May Saturday.
| "All the flowers and everything, it's nice to be outside." — Joey Fiorentini |
"We wanted to come out here and see the butterflies." — Linda Lopez | 
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WATCH | Mojave Max emerges from his burrow
Max is one of the Preserve's biggest draws, especially now that he's woken up from his record-long slumber.
"He comes out when it's warm, finally!" Sarah Shane said.
Ask any Las Vegas local, and they'll tell you what that means—it's officially spring in Southern Nevada!
"We're some of his fans," Lopez said. "I'm happy that he came out, because we thought that he might be gone."
The last time I was at the Springs Preserve—just over a week ago—I was wondering what was taking Mojave Max so long to emerge from his burrow, and half-jokingly asked "what does this guy know that we don't?"
PRIOR VISIT | It's May in Southern Nevada. Where is celebrity desert tortoise Mojave Max?
Now that he's awake and emerged from brumation—a reptile's version of hibernation—I started thinking, "what does this guy know that we don't," and what could his tardy exit be telling us about our upcoming summer?
"Hopefully it's not as hot, and that means spring will last a little bit longer for us," Fiorentini said.
"It surprised me, I wonder why," Lopez said. "If he could talk, I'd ask him why'd he come out so late?"
That's actually a question I took to Springs Preserve Senior Zoologist Katrina Smith when I met with her last week.
"He's always been the last one to emerge in the habitat," Smith said. "It's a little bit warmer when he comes out, he just takes his time."
In fact, before this year, Max's emergences in 2023 and 2024 were the latest ever, too—April 24 and April 23 respectively—so I asked Smith if three consecutive late emergences from Mr. Max could signal any sort of trend.
"Well the trend would be more climate related," Smith said. "So if our temperatures aren't warming up until a bit later in the season, that means our tortoises aren't going to be active until later in the season."
As far as what we can expect for this summer?
I looked at summer temperature data from the year of Max's earliest emergence—which came on Feb. 14, 2005—and compared it to his two latest emergences in 2023 and 2024, to see if we can gather any insight.
Outside of a record-setting week in the middle of July, summer 2005 was fairly normal.
It took a while for summer 2023 to get going, not reaching triple digits until the last day of June, before an above average July and an average August.
Last year? Well, we all remember last year. It was our hottest year on record, where we reached 120 degrees at Harry Reid International Airport–the hottest temperature ever recorded in Las Vegas.
So, an emergence in May this year may not spell good news if you're dreaming of a cool summer.
"Typically when it's cool in the spring, we have a really hot summer," Smith said. "I'm hoping [Max] doesn't know something we don't."
No matter what happens, locals trust Mojave Max and are ready for whatever our summer has in store.
"Absolutely, he's old!" Fiorentini said with a laugh. "He's got wisdom and experience!"
"I think we should be prepared for our summer heat," Lopez said. "More water, more sunscreen."
To learn more about the Mojave Max program, visit their website by clicking here.
The Springs Preserve is open Thursday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., click here to visit their website to learn more and find ticketing information.
