Nevada's spring tortoise dead at 65

LAS VEGAS, July 2 (UPI) -- A desert tortoise revered by Southern Nevadans as a herald of spring's arrival has died of natural causes at the estimated age of 65.

A Nevada Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman said Mojave Max, who drew crowds of thousands to watch his annual emergence from his burrow at the Red Rock Canyon Visitor Center in the Mojave Desert, died Monday after nine years of serving the state with his mid-March emergences, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Wednesday.

The spokeswoman said the state has yet to choose a successor for Max.