New research from Lund University, Sweden, has shown for the
first time that chimpanzees catch yawns from humans, and that the
susceptibility to contagious yawning develops gradually with age – just like it
does in humans.
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While juvenile chimpanzees (5-8 years of age) catch human
yawns, infant chimpanzees seem immune to yawn contagion. Aside from humans,
cross-species yawn contagion has previously only been demonstrated in dogs.