Could a creature have a separate pouch to hold food until it is needed?

I am developing a species that gives birth to live young after a very brief pregnancy. The infants are somewhat underdeveloped due to this fact. The harsh environment of the mountains means that those who carry the infants can't survive long pregnancies due to that fact that they would have to burn substantial calories to heat themselves as well as their several young.

In response to this, they birth their young after only three months, when they are just able to regulate their body temperature well enough to survive. They spend most of their time in the womb developing, so their digestive system is much more underdeveloped at birth.

This species solves this problem by having a special pouch around their neck, where they store partially digested food for their infants.

My question is, could they still potentially use said pouch to store food for themselves. Is there a way in which the muscles of their neck would allow them to both swallow and regurgitate food from a pouch like this?

posted almost 6 years ago

ThatCamal‭

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