I have a 5 yr. old female Doberman that has never had pups but hasn't been spayed. Once a year she goes into a "mother mode", the vet says it is a "false pregnancy". He says it is a hormonal thing. She will get milk in her teats, they droop like a new mother, she will become very anxious, will eventually round up a bunch of her plastic toys and pile them up and groom, and guard them for a month or more.
If a stranger or my wife gets close to them she threatens them, growls, shows fangs, etc.), she allows me to pick them up but is very uncomfortable when I do.
She seems very frustrated because they refuse to nurse. If my wife tries to hide them from her she sniffs them out and piles them up again. There is no doubt she thinks they are puppies.
Maybe lions have this condition, also? Regards, Howie