Later, Hrdy hypothesized that such mating behavior, which she reframed as “assiduously maternal”—behavior likely to keep her baby alive—and now widely reported for many species of primates, could under other circumstances actually increase the odds that males, even more than one “possible father,” would protect, care for, and even provision her infant. All in all, given the right ecological and social circumstances, mating with multiple males might be very beneficial to females indeed.
