Alisha Powers’ fifth-grade class’ historic wait for Mojave Max paid off.
Anthony Gandarilla of Selma Bartlett Elementary School in Henderson predicted the live desert tortoise that calls Springs Preserve home would emerge from his winter burrow at 12:43 p.m. on May 10, just seven minutes off Mojave Max’s official emergence time of 12:50 p.m. that day. Gandarilla’s guess was the closest among over 3,500 elementary students in Clark County who submitted guesses for this year’s Mojave Max Emergence Contest.
Only 49 students across the county guessed Mojave Max would emerge on May 10, which was a record for the latest emergence in a calendar year by the 22-year-old tortoise. His previous record was May 8, 2025.
For having the closest guess, Gandarilla won his class a field trip to Springs Preserve on Thursday along with Olympic-style medals, event T-shirts, a pizza party and a trophy for the school.
Gandarilla won laptops for his teacher and him. He also won a year-long membership to Springs Preserve, an “America the Beautiful” parks pass, a “Family Four Pack Pass” to the Las Vegas Science & Natural History Museum and a digital camera.
The Mojave Max Emergence Contest is part of the Clark County Desert Conservation Program, which has students study Mojave Desert weather, temperatures and conditions to scientifically estimate when Mojave Max will emerge annually. The tortoise’s annual emergence marks the beginning of consistent spring-like weather in Southern Nevada.
Contact Trevor Squire at tsquire@reviewjournal.com Follow him at @trevordsquire on X.
