A very big baby penguin!
The Smithsonian Magazine wrote it up:
In late January, caretakers at Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium in Australia were ecstatic when a king penguin chick successfully emerged from his shell. The baby, which they named Pesto, was the only king penguin born at the aquarium in the last two years. He weighed less than a pound.
They’ve since watched as the youngster grew—and kept growing. As of Wednesday, Pesto weighs a whopping 51.8 pounds, according to the aquarium.
His fame took off when the aquarium threw a gender reveal party (they can’t tell through a blood test.) Now he’s an internet superstar.
But why is Pesto such a big boy?
Caretakers chalk up his unusual size to a “hearty appetite”—he eats more than 25 fish a day—and good genes. His biological father, a king penguin named Blake, is one of the biggest and oldest penguins at the facility, weighing in at around 39 pounds, per New Atlas’ Bronwyn Thompson.
However, Pesto is being raised by a younger couple, Tango and Hudson, who have been taking good care of him, according to the aquarium. For reference, they both weigh just about 24 pounds. As Jacinta Early, the aquarium’s education supervisor, tells BBC News’ Tiffanie Turnbull, Pesto “eclipses” the pair, “which also makes him look comically large.”
Right now, Pesto is still covered in fuzzy brown down. But in the coming months, his baby feathers will be replaced by black, white and orange plumage.
“He’s going to start losing that really adorable baby fluff,” says Early to the Associated Press’ Rod McGuirk. “It might take him one to two months to really get rid of it. Then he’ll be nice and sleek and streamlined.”
Around the same time, he may also lose some weight. As he matures, he’ll likely settle in at closer to 33 pounds, per NPR. Still, Pesto will probably always be a “big boy,” Smale tells CNN’s Lilit Marcus.
“He’s already significantly taller than his dad,” she adds.
Apparently they usually weigh between 31 and 37 lbs. Wow. But they aren’t as big as the emperor penguins which can weight up to 100 lbs! What???
Luckily these birds are not on the endangered species list. In fact, their numbers are increasing. They are very, very cool.
