Southern California Mojave Maxine Emergence Contest

Let me introduce myself, my name is Maxine and I live at The Living Desert in Palm Desert, California. I’m a desert tortoise, which means I’m a reptile, I have scales to protect me from the sharp rock and prickly plants found in my desert home. My family dates back over 10,000 years in the desert. I like warm temperatures over cold. And I’m an herbivore, I just eat juicy plants.

I burrow deep in the desert floor to stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer. You see the temperature stays pretty constant down in my comfy burrow.

After a good winter rain, my favorite foods become plentiful, I especially like bright colored flowers, yum.

When I feel a chill I go into my burrow and into a state of sleep called brumation. This means I’m staying warm and conserving my energy, and awaiting just the right time to emerge once again.

My internal time clock ticks and tocks, waiting for the long, warm days to return in the early spring, I also know plenty of food will be available too.

I’ve been living at The Living Desert since April, 1997, my estimated hatch year is 1977, that makes me 34 in 2011. I weigh about 11lbs. I hope you will make a good guess about the date and time that I will emerge this season. Below is a chart of my emergence in the past.