Until now, I have never really classified myself as someone who is a “penguin person” . . . I am more of a panda or a dog lover. After briefly learning about Pesto with downtime in Mr. Dixon’s psychology class, I decided to dig a bit deeper into this interesting topic. Pesto is a large baby penguin that has been getting recent fame and attention, due to his abnormal size and rapid growth. He was born at the Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium, where he has been nurtured and cared for by the wonderful staff. His fluffy brown feathers and large belly has attracted various age groups – especially on social media. I mean, how could you not think he’s adorable?

At just nine months old, Pesto has managed to weigh nearly 50 pounds, “making him the biggest penguin chick Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium in Melbourne, Australia has ever seen.” (Walrath-Holdridge). In this early stage, it is extremely unlikely for a penguin to have progressed such a large amount, in terms of development. However, Pesto is consistent with his diet, as he ensures to eat 25 fish a day – I guess you could say he is in his “bulking era”! It’s safe to say this diet is absolutely making an impact, as Pesto has nearly doubled his foster parents’ weight, which is around 24 pounds. To put this into perspective, the average adult penguin stands to be between 29 and 39 inches and can weigh between 21 and 40 pounds. As you can imagine, Pesto has left several staff members stumped, as he is just a baby, and has well surpassed these typical measurements. Despite these impressive facts regarding his size, the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition shares how it is unlikely for Pesto to remain in this rapid growth period, as he is soon going to enter his fledgling period. This is essentially where he will lose his fuzzy brown feathers, and begin to grow more sleek, white and black feathers. Additionally, it is predicted that he will likely slim down, though I am confident he will still be adorable!

At this point, I am sure you have realized how I have been referring to Pesto as a “he”, and presumably thought nothing of it. However, there are far more layers to this than you may think. Due to his certain breed – King Penguins – Pesto’s gender could not be determined by simply analyzing his physical appearance. Sea Life staff conducted a blood test which was able to reveal whether Pesto was a boy or a girl. As you all know, Pesto is in fact a boy, however, in honor of this exciting news, staff members held a gender reveal party. A personalized cake was baked, and when cut into, the gender was revealed through blue frosting within the layers. This sparked lots of positive reactions on social media, as a video was filmed and uploaded on FaceBook, increasing Pesto’s popularity. 

Overall, Pesto the penguin is an extremely unique and interesting baby penguin, as he has already managed to make headlines and go viral in such a short period of time. I cannot wait to continue to follow along with Pesto’s journey and see what changes he will endure over the next few months. With that being said, look out for another article in the future checking in on Pesto!

Thank you all for reading, I hope you’ve enjoyed it!