I think you're onto something here. Does anyone know if there are examples of very non-social species yawning (i.e., something that has a brief mating period with no prolonged pair bonding, and then it lays eggs and takes off)?

So, I tried to track down an answer. And, apparently, there’s currently no well-replicated study showing true contagious yawning in a species that is otherwise non-social and non-bonding.