I wonder if it is the case with most all communal-type animals?
At least it's a non-harmful type of contagion.
I wonder if there are 'crowd' yawns? Where, like in a crowd (human), one starts and it has a domino effect?
Never thought of it as being empathetic, though.
So, it's kinda like a sympathetic response to either tiredness or boredom?
I had to look into this further, and found this-
Why Do We Yawn and Why Is It Contagious?
K, so yawning cools our brain and makes us more alert and think more clearly.
Hmm, does that mean people in cooler climates 'think' better than those in warmer ones?
Anyway, I leave you with this-