SEA LIFE Melbourne aquarium clarified online how Pesto the 9-month-old King Penguin reached he 46-pound size
SEA LIFE Melbourne/Instagram
An adult King Penguin (left) and 9-month-old King Penguin Pesto at SEA LIFE Melbourne in Australia
Pesto the baby penguin is big both online — where his viral fame is growing to Moo Deng levels of excitement — and in stature.
The 9-month-old King Penguin’s impressive size has attracted many animal lovers to his TikTok and Instagram videos, which appear on the social media accounts for his home aquarium. SEA LIFE Melbourne, in Australia.
In a TikTok shared by SEA LIFE Melbourne on Sept. 25, viewed over 2.1 million times, Pesto waddles behind an adult King Penguin but manages to dwarf the older bird in size.
“Our chonky King workin’ it,” the aquarium captioned the amusing clip.
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Videos like these have prompted many to ask, “Why is Pesto so big?”
SEA LIFE Melbourne must have received enough inquiries about this because a section of its website is dedicated to answering the question.
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On the aquarium’s webpage about Pesto, there is a section titled “Why is Peso the penguin so big?”
According to SEA LIFE Melbourne, a mixture of “good genes and good parents” helped 46-pound Pesto, the largest penguin chick SEA LIFE Melbourne has cared for, reach his healthy size.
“Firstly, his biological dad, Blake, is our biggest and oldest penguin. Secondly, he’s had amazing parents raising him!” the aquarium wrote in response to the Pesto size question.
SEA LIFE Melbourne also noted that Pesto is currently eating 25 fish a day to keep him satisfied and strong and that the baby bird will lose some of its weight when he matures and grows his adult feathers, a process known as fledging.
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Pesto isn’t the only viral baby zoo animal getting attention. Moo Deng the baby pygmy hippo, is winning hearts on social media and changing the success of her zoo home.
Since Moo Deng’s arrival at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi Province, Thailand, she has helped double the zoo’s visitors. The facility is also working to get the pygmy hippopotamus a patent and her own live stream.
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