African penguins (also called jackass penguins for their donkeylike braying) face an uphill stuggle to rebuild their population after a century of decline.
In the 1800s the birds' guano—a necessary part of their nesting environment—was stripped away from their nesting grounds to provide fertilizer for farms. As a result many of the penguins were unable to successfully reproduce. Today, the birds face continuing hurdles from oil pollution and a dwindling food supply.
(Photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Fairest Cape," March 1997, National Geographic Traveler magazine)
