Yawning is contagious for lions, who synchronize their behaviors to help group cohesion

Some animals, including humans, will start yawning after someone else nearby yawns, and a new study suggests this ‘contagious yawning’ helps fuel group cohesion. Researchers observing lions in South Africa found the animals do not just mimic each other’s yawns, they would copy subsequent behaviors. If one lion yawned, then got up and moved somewhere … Read more