A baby penguin named Pesto, who at nine months old weighs 22.5kg (50 pounds) and towers over the adults at 90cm (roughly three feet) tall, has caught the eye of animal lovers around the world.
Pesto, who lives at the Sea Life Melbourne aquarium in Australia, is a king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus), the second largest type of penguin in the world, but he is big even for this species – taller even than his caregiver parents, Tango and Hudson.
Most king penguins grow from 70cm to 100cm tall and weigh between 14kg and 16kg (31–35 pounds) as adults.
Michaela Smale, a senior keeper at the aquarium told local broadcaster 9News that images and videos of the penguin had gone viral on social media. “Pesto has reached more than 1.9 billion people across the globe, so he really is a drawcard for visitation to Victoria,” she said.
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