In The World of the Penguin, world-renowned nature photographer Jonathan Chester combines a magnificent portfolio of penguin photographs with a highly readable and authoritative text. He describes the seventeen species of penguins, from the stately king penguin of the sub-antarctic to the timid little penguin, or blue penguin, of southern Australia and New Zealand to the black-footed African penguin of South Africa. He tells us how penguins are able to withstand the extreme cold of the Antarctic, why the male emperor penguin incubates the female's single egg on the top of his foot for two months, and how the Galapagos penguin can survive on the equator.
The second section describes the relationship between humans and penguins, beginning with the aboriginal peoples of Tierra del Fuego, who made cloaks from penguins' feathered skins. This section also examines European explorers' exploitation of penguins for their meat and their skins, the slaughter of penguins for their oil in the nineteenth century, and the popularity of egg collecting in parts of South Africa and South America. The book ends with a thoughtful look at the environmental pressures on penguins today.
Throughout the book, Jonathan Chester's astonishing photographs capture these amazing birds in their natural habitats as they feed their young, porpoise out of the water to catch their breath, or gather in rookeries of hundreds of thousands of birds to breed. Together, text and photographs create an unforgettable portrait of these fascinating flightless birds.
