Why are the seals yawning in every (almost) picture?

Anxiety has previously been identified as one of the causes of yawning in Madagascar lemurs. The study was led by Elisabetta Palagi from the University of Pisa. Even earlier, ethologist Jane Goodall in her first studies of chimpanzees in the Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania found that the animals start yawning more often in the presence of people.

Going forward, the scientists intend to determine whether sea lions have a contagious yawning effect, which could be attributed to a display of empathy. This would be further evidence of similar aspects of behaviour in humans and animals.