At just nine months old, Pesto the king penguin has become a sensation at Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium. Weighing 22.5kg and standing 90cm tall, Pesto is already larger than both of his parents. Photos of him towering over his parents have gone viral, capturing the internet’s attention.
Despite being known for their black and white coloring, baby king penguins like Pesto are born with brown feathers. As they grow, they learn to swim and eventually shed these baby feathers in a process called fledging. Pesto is soon expected to start this transition as he begins his swimming lessons.
Penguins are sexually dimorphic, meaning their gender isn’t obvious just by looking at them. To determine their sex, aquarium keepers take a small drop of blood from their toes and send it to a lab for analysis. Pesto’s gender reveal was shared with a wider audience than usual; a viral video showed a cake being cut open, revealing blue inside, confirming Pesto as a male.
Michaela Smale, a penguin keeper at Sea Life since 2018, shared that Pesto is bigger than his biological father, Blake, who is one of the largest penguins at the aquarium. However, Pesto is being raised by foster parents, Tango and Hudson, two younger penguins chosen to take on parenting duties.
Pesto’s diet is just as impressive as his size. He consumes about eight fish four times a day, meaning he eats over 30 fish daily—double the amount that adult penguins typically consume. As a growing chick, Pesto still receives supplemental feedings from his foster parents.
With all this food comes a lot of waste. Penguins are known to relieve themselves about every 15 minutes, keeping the aquarium staff busy maintaining the cleanliness of the exhibit.
As Pesto continues to grow, he’s beginning to lose some of his baby feathers, signaling the start of his journey to adulthood. Smale hopes that Pesto, who may soon enter his “teenage” phase, will retain some of his quirky personality as he integrates into the colony. Fans are eagerly awaiting to follow his adventures.
