Young penguin named Pesto has surpassed his parents in height, earning him fame on social media platforms.
Introducing Pesto, the colossal king penguin, who outgrows his parents at the age of nine months and 50 pounds (22.5 kilograms) at the Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium in Australia.
Photos of Pesto, standing at a towering height of 90 centimeters, or approximately 3 feet, have gone viral online. He has not only intrigued curious minds but also served as a platform to educate people about king penguins.
Although most people are familiar with adult king penguins with their distinctive black-and-white plumage, newborns are born covered in brown feathers. It's only when they learn to swim that they begin shedding these feathers, a process known as fledging.
King penguins are also known to exhibit sexual dimorphism, making it challenging to determine their sex based on appearance alone. To find out the gender of their penguins, caretakers collect a tiny drop of blood from the penguin's toe and send it to a lab for analysis.
Pesto's gender reveal, usually a low-key event involving staff-made cupcakes, was anything but low-key. Given his record-breaking tendencies, his reveal was broadcast on social media. In the viral clip, a keeper sliced into a white cake to reveal blue filling.
Sea Life's Instagram page boasts an impressive 25,000 followers.
"I think he'll always be a large guy," says Michaela Smale, a penguin keeper who's worked at Sea Life since 2018. "Once he sheds his feathers, he'll shrink and slim down a bit, but he's already significantly taller than his father."
Pesto's biological father, Blake, is one of the aquarium's oldest and largest penguins. However, he's currently under the care of Tango and Hudson, younger penguins chosen by the Sea Life keepers to experience fatherhood. Many of the 60 penguins have food-themed names, such as Pudding, Whopper, and Lamingtons.
Pesto receives about eight fish meals, four times a day – that's over 30 fish a day – doubling the daily fish intake of the average adult penguin.
As a chick, Pesto also supplements his diet with food provided by his parents. With this food comes a lot of waste. Smale reveals that penguins typically relieve themselves about every 15 minutes, requiring caretakers to maintain a spotless penguin exhibit when visitors arrive.
Pesto, now nine months old and weighing 50 pounds, is about to enter adulthood. He's beginning to lose some of his baby feathers, and swimming lessons from his father are just around the corner.
"Sometimes they can become quite independent teenagers, so maybe he's ready for his rebellious phase," says Smale.
"I hope he retains his unique personality and we can continue to follow his journey as he becomes part of the colony."
Despite his upcoming transition into adulthood, Pesto's size continues to draw attention, making travel plans for him difficult due to space constraints during transportation. The colossal king penguin's fame has also prompted discussions about creating special accommodations for large penguins in future aquarium displays.
Having a popular figure like Pesto in the aquarium encourages visitors to learn more about king penguins, potentially leading to an increase in eco-tourism related to penguin habitats and conservation efforts.
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