Chimps catch yawns from dominant males

CHIMPS have an unusual way of interacting with dominant males – they yawn back at them.

No one is sure why yawning is contagious in chimps and other animals. “People claim that it is some sort of measure of empathy,” says Jorg Massen at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

To test the theory, Massen and his colleagues monitored a group of chimpanzees at Burgers’ Zoo in Arnhem, the Netherlands. They filmed each of the 15 chimpanzees yawning – something the animals tend to do before they set off after a period of rest. They then played back the clips to the chimps individually to see whether the animals would yawn in response.

Clips of male chimps yawning were about twice as likely to induce yawns as clips of female yawns (PLoS One, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0040697). The team says this may be linked to the fact that dominant chimps are always male. Contagious yawns may help the group act in step with its dominant male and get the group moving after a period of rest, Massen says.

He hopes to explore whether a similar link between yawning and social status exists in humans. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the yawns of President Obama would be more contagious than those of the average American,” he says.


Issue 2875 of New Scientist magazine


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