Tuesday, the Mojave Max team announced the winner of the 2026 Mojave Max Emergence Contest.

The winning student, fifth grader Anthony G. from Selma Bartlett Elementary School, guessed that Mojave Max would emerge on May 10, 2026, at 12:43 p.m. Mojave Max’s official emergence was May 10, 2026, at 12:50 p.m. Anthony was one of over 3,500 students who participated in the contest throughout the school year. A total of 49 students guessed that Mojave Max would emerge at varying times on May 10, 2026. Anthony’s teacher, Alisha Powers, helped him and his classmates enter their guesses on April 8, 2026. This is the first time a student from Bartlett Elementary Schools has won the contest.

Mojave Max’s official emergence from his burrow on May 10, 2026, at 12:50 p.m., broke his previous record for his latest emergence, which was May 8, 2025, at 2:09 p.m. The earliest date he has emerged was Feb. 14, 2005, at 11:55 a.m. The temperature when he emerged was approximately 97^° Fahrenheit on the surface. Mojave Max’s burrow was measured last year and is known to be over four feet deep and over eight feet long. Mojave Max brumated as far from the entrance as possible, which contributed to his late emergence as he did not initially feel the warmer above-ground temperatures.

The Mojave Max team will welcome the contest winner and their teacher and classmates to the Springs Preserve for a field trip on Thursday, May 21^st.

The Mojave Max team consists of staff from the Clark County Desert Conservation Program, educators from Get Outdoors Nevada, the Senior Zoologist from Springs Preserve, the Mojave Max mascot, and of course, the live Mojave Max Mojave Desert tortoise.

In addition to the field trip to Springs Preserve, Anthony will receive several prizes including a year-long family membership to the Springs Preserve, an “America the Beautiful” year-long family pass to National Parks and Federal Recreation areas, a Family Four Pack Pass to the Las Vegas Science & Natural History Museum, a digital camera, and a laptop computer. Anthony’s teacher will also receive a laptop computer. Anthony’s entire class will receive Olympic-style medals, event T-shirts, a pizza party, and a trophy for the school.

As part of the Clark County Desert Conservation Program’s annual Mojave Max Emergence Contest, elementary school students from Clark County studied Mojave Desert weather, temperatures, and conditions to scientifically estimate when they believed Mojave Max would emerge from his burrow in 2026.

Mojave Max, the official mascot of the Clark County Desert Conservation Program, is a live desert tortoise that calls the Springs Preserve in Las Vegas his home. Like other Southern Nevada reptiles, he enters a burrow to brumate (the reptilian form of hibernation) every winter and emerges every spring. For over 25 years, Mojave Max’s emergence marked the beginning of consistent spring-like weather in Clark County.

Questions about the Mojave Max education program and the Clark County Desert Conservation Program should be directed to Audrie Locke at (725) 270-4286. More information is available at www.ClarkCountyNV.gov or www.MojaveMax.com.

Questions about the live Mojave Max tortoise should be directed to Lisa Story with the Las Vegas Springs Preserve at 702-378-6527.