But I wonder if it takes a zoo or aquarium for us to feel empathy toward a creature whose habitat is shrinking due to humans, toward a creature most have us have never seen or heard? Their “boom” vocalization registers at the lowest frequency of all known bird calls, below the limits of human hearing. But when they boom to each other in the densest forest, sanctuary keepers report that they can feel this rumble in their bones, even if they can’t hear it. We can’t hear cassowaries, but we can literally feel their presence, and with their arresting looks, they are one of those ancient birds with
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