Devotees of a Beloved Desert Tortoise Await Her Emergence

What to Know

Mojave Maxine is a Desert Tortoise living at The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert
The animal brumates for several weeks each winter; schoolkids (K-12) from three regional counties are invited to guess when she might finally emerge, which could be in late January or February
When Maxine concludes her brumation, it is said that springtime has arrived in the California desert

ON BURROWED TIME: It isn't often that an anticipated emergence is such a celebrated event. Certainly not in our own lives, for it is unlikely anyone is lingering outside our homes, ready to applaud us as we depart where we live and head out into the world to do the things we must do. True, the departure of major actors from various tony restaurants is often caught by a flurry of flashbulbs, but, for the most part, emerging from anywhere is a pretty ho-hum everyday act. But "ho-hum" does not accurately describe the expected emergence of Mojave Maxine, the celebrated Desert Tortoise of Palm Desert, an animal sometimes billed as California's own Punxsutawney Phil.

THE REGAL REPTILE... has been enjoying her snug brumation, which is a bit like hibernation, for several chilly weeks. But when the weather begins to warm up, The Living Desert resident will bid her brumating time farewell and trundle out of her burrow into the sunshine. No paparazzi flashbulbs capture this act, and natural ground, not a red carpet, greets her feet. But the excitement at seeing her is very real, and for some schoolkids, a true moment of elation. For the Mojave Maxine Emergence Contest has become an annual rite for plenty of youngsters in the region and predicting the date and time that the shell-rocking superstar will emerge means complimentary t-shirts for the classroom that submits the closest guess as well as a visit to The Living Desert.

IT'S NEARLY TIME (MAYBE): When will Mojave Maxine finally sassily saunter, like the star she is, into 2023 and the waiting hearts of fans watching from home? Her recent emergence dates have occurred in the later part of January and early February, but this colder, wetter winter could change things up... or perhaps not. It's ultimately Maxine's decision, so we'll just have to wait on burrowed time and her signal that springtime in the desert has begun. Your best bet is to follow The Living Desert's social pages in the weeks to come and keep a watch on the Mojave Maxine Live Cam.