Pseudo Pregnancy

Young female squirrels,

will sometimes get the condition called:

galactorrhea, pseudocyesis or pseudo pregnancy.

Even though they aren't pregnant,

if they have a neighbor female squirrel who is,

actually pregnant, she will also start

to gain weight and produce milk.

They do this as a survival mechanism.

If the real mother dies,

the neighboring fake pregnant female

will take her place and raise the babies, as her own.

If the real pregnant mother has a full litter of pups,

which can be 6 puppies, they can share the load

and the fake mother will raise a few of them,

as her own.

This ensures that the next generation of red squirrels

will have a fully functioning step mother,

even if the real mom should,

accidentally pass away too soon.

Bonus fact, this can also happen in humans.

Much like the synchronising of cycles.

If a girl/woman is really, really eager to get a child,

but her best friend gets pregnant before her,

this exact same thing can happen and

she will also start to lactate.

To quote "doctor" Ian Malcolm from Jurassic Park:

'Life, erm, finds a way...'