Pesto is the biggest penguin the Melbourne aquarium has ever had — and he's just a chick - video Dailymotion

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A pudgy penguin named Pesto has taken social media by storm due to his size. The 9-month-old chick, known for his fluffy appearance, is twice the weight of his parents. However, keepers at Sea Life Melbourne assure that his large size is only temporary.

Transcript

00:00A curious and bold bird with what seems like a bottomless appetite.

00:08Pesto gets fed approximately four times a day.

00:11Each feed is about eight fish.

00:13He's often first to greet us in the morning and come wandering over chirping at us for some breakfast.

00:18When Pesto hatched nine months ago he weighed 200 grams.

00:22Now he's 22 and a half kilograms.

00:25And with his 12 kilogram dad in front, Junior clearly dwarfs him and every other bird here.

00:32He's almost double their size.

00:34He's definitely on the upper percentile in terms of king penguin chicks.

00:38King penguin chicks need to stack on weight early to survive sub-zero temperatures and are not yet waterproof.

00:44But Pesto is especially large because of genetics.

00:47He definitely comes from a family of big babies.

00:50And Pesto's eye-catching girth has also seen videos of him rack up millions of views online.

01:00Plus a flurry of visitors locally, internationally and of all ages.

01:05I like them fluffy.

01:07They like them fluffy.

01:09Yeah, he's adorable. He's so sweet.

01:11We've come to see the fluffy thing.

01:13The penguins seem unaware of the fuss but the aquarium is warning visitors to be careful.

01:18If we do have people banging on the acrylic, using flash photography or trying to make a penguin follow their finger,

01:24that's really not wanted behaviour as that can stress them out.

01:27There are about 60 penguins in this exhibition right now but Pesto is the only chick.

01:32So he's not only super famous outside, he's very important in here.

01:35So in many ways it's his kingdom for now.

01:38It is nesting and breeding season so hopefully more chicks will hatch in Melbourne.

01:42And in a few months Pesto himself will get a summer body.

01:46Pesto is healthy. We're not concerned about his weight at all.

01:49He is a chunky monkey but once those baby feathers come off he'll shrink like a balloon

01:54and he will be slender and beautiful and ready to take his first dip in the pool.

01:59Or perhaps a giant splash.

Pesto is the biggest penguin the Melbourne aquarium has ever had — and he's just a chick

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