Southwest Wildlife has not yet, to my knowledge, been able to find her another mate. I've asked them to try. It has been interesting, if sad, to see her unsettled and nervous at the loss of Shorty. She seems somewhat lost and distracted. It will be eleven years in March, since we found her and started this amazing story. Once of the interesting aspects of this whole thing is discovering how long she will live. With good medical care, no predators, a good diet, and a good emotional life, she will have the best chance of a long life. The only period of emotional stress has been this recent period after losing Shorty and it may shorten her life by an amount we can't measure. In the wild, their lives could end for a number of reasons and they probably don't last very long, but it was suggested that at Southwest, she might last as long as eighteen years.
I hope to see her again in January and we'll see if she has settled down a bit. One aspect of her interaction with us has been her emotional range. It has been so obvious how she feels about situations, other animals and people. Easy to read her emotions, desires, fears, etc. This, I'm sure is part of what endeared her to us as we see ourselves in her. We can relate. We can help. We want to play too. We have fears too. She is a person in a different body, hardwired a bit differently, but full of goodness, curiosity, the will to live, have a family and have fun. She has self awareness, secrets, and personal interests. She enjoys time by herself and interaction with others. We bonded and became a pack. I try to protect her as I would a child or a friend. But she can never come visit us again. We can't take a nap next to her, go on a hunt together, go camping together or ride in the truck. So, I'll do what I can, from here.
I will always be grateful and continue to contribute to Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center.
