Henderson first-grader closest in guessing Mojave Max’s emergence
Mojave Max emerged from his burrow at Red Rock Canyon later than ever this year, and Mack Elementary School first-grader Quinton Larry totally saw it coming.
Quinton came within 11 minutes of predicting the desert tortoise's first appearance of the year, besting more than 3,800 other Clark County schoolchildren to win the 2012 Mojave Max Emergence Contest.
Max came out of brumation - the reptile version of hibernation - at 12:41 p.m. April 17. Quinton guessed it would happen at 12:30 p.m. that day.
The 7-year-old and his classmates at the Henderson school were surprised with T-shirts and medals as his winning entry was announced late Thursday morning.
He and his teacher, Holly Baugh, also will receive new laptop computers. The class will be treated to a May 10 field trip to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, where they will get pizza and a chance to meet the real Max.
The emergence contest was launched in 2000 to get children interested in science and the natural world around them. It's part of the larger Mojave Max Education Program, which is administered through a partnership among Clark County, the Clark County School District, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the Red Rock Canyon Interpretive Association and Friends of Red Rock Canyon.
Seven past winners have come within 3 minutes of correctly predicting Max's first appearance of the year, and three of them managed to guess the exact time and date.
This year's emergence was the latest on record for Mojave Max, beating the previous record by three days. Valentine's Day 2005 marked the earliest the tortoise has crawled from his heavily scrutinized hole at the Red Rock visitors center.
Contact reporter Henry Brean at hbrean@review journal.com or 702-383-0350.
