Contagious yawning is stronger in wolves than in dog-admixed wolves

Abstract

Behavioural contagion occurs when the behaviour of one individual elicits the same behaviour in another individual observing the event, and it is considered one of the fundamental mechanisms promoting group coordination and cohesion in social species, including humans. Empirical research on behavioural contagion has focused primarily on yawning and has shown evidence of it in several animal species. Here, we studied behavioural contagion in 2 groups of captive wolves (N = 20) and 3 groups of captive dog-admixed wolves (N = 13). We conducted behavioural observations of naturally occurring yawning events and monitored the yawning behaviour of the other group members in the two minutes following each event. Our results showed that, in both admixed and non-admixed wolves, individuals who had the opportunity to observe the initial yawn were significantly more likely to yawn within the subsequent two minutes than those who had not observed the event. Crucially, this effect was stronger in non-admixed than in admixed wolves. Furthermore, individuals that were more socially integrated were more likely to elicit behavioural contagion in both admixed and non-admixed wolves. In contrast, neither individual rank nor dyadic relationship quality between the yawner and the observer mediated the probability of contagion. By revealing variation in behavioural contagion patterns between admixed and non-admixed wolves, this study provides insights into how introgressive hybridization with domestic species may influence mechanisms underlying social coordination and pack cohesion in wolves.