 Why is it so important for Jig and Shannon to find Gertrude a mate?
The Blue Behemoth By LEIGH BRACKETT Shannon's Imperial Circus was a jinxed space-carny leased for a mysterious tour of the inner worlds. It made a one-night pitch on a Venusian swamp-town—to find that death stalked it from the jungle in a tiny ball of flame. [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Planet Stories May 1943. "We," he said, "are broke. With Shannon's Imperial Circus, the Greatest Show in Space, plastered so thick with attachments...." I've wet-nursed Shannon's Imperial Circus around the Triangle for eleven years, and I know. It's lousy, it's mangy, it's broken-down! Nobody insults Buckhalter Shannon's Imperial Circus to Buckhalter Shannon's face unless he's tired and wants a long rest in a comfy fracture-frame. I had plenty of time to think how I only weigh one-thirty-seven to Shannon's one-seventy-five, and how I'm not as young as I used to be. Bucky Shannon sighed, and let his fist start traveling, a long, deceptive arc. It has always been my desire to lighten the burden of life for those less fortunate...." He went on, quietly, "I have always held that entertainment, of the right sort, is the most valuable aid humanity can have in its search for the alleviation of toil and boredom...." "There are many towns along the Venusian frontiers where no entertainment of the— proper sort has been available. It was Gow, our zoo-man—a big, ugly son-of-a-gun from a Terran colony on Mercury. Gow looks a lot like the scenery—scowling, unapproachable, and tough. He said, "Boss, Gertrude's actin' up again." "Gertrude be blowed," growled Bucky. "I'm tellin' you, Boss, Gertrude ain't happy. If something...." I said, "That'll all be taken care of, Gow. Beamish cleared his throat and said, rather stiffly, "Gertrude?" "She's the star attraction of our show, Mr. Beamish. The only other one on the Triangle belongs to Savitt Brothers, and she's much smaller than Gertrude." Gertrude may be a little creaky, but she's still pretty impressive. The mystery surrounding the origin and species of the cansin is a fascinating subject. The extreme rarity of the animal...." I said tactfully, "We'd have to have at least a hundred U.C.'s."
 Her crying and loneliness without one is affecting the entire crew, and they can't afford to have her out of commission.
 They want to preserve her species, and they're close to extinction. Her species is too valuable to let die out.  They need another "cansin" for their show.  She feels alone in her cage and in the circus, and they feel badly for her.  Her crying and loneliness without one is affecting the entire crew, and they can't afford to have her out of commission.