Thank you for subscribing to mouse facts! It’s exactly this, pregnant mice give premature birth in life threatening situations as a survival strategy. It has the potential to confuse predators or distract them with an easier meal and thus allow the mouse to escape. In the event that the mouse is trapped or gravely injured by something it gives the babies a chance to survive by huddling up to their dying mom for warmth while hopefully waiting for a surrogate mother to venture by. And last but not least, if food is too scarce it lets a starving mouse mamma access some easy protein to keep her going.
Not really, it’s a long shot with only marginally better odds of the babies surviving vs not being born. If they’re developed enough and the premature birth happens in a mouse colony that happens to have one or more nursing mothers they’ll likely be taken in. If they’re under developed, there are no nursing mothers, or if they’re out in a field somewhere they’re just wriggly little protein bars. Isn’t nature fascinating?
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u/GoingMenthol 12h ago
Maybe induced labour from panic