Skip to content

Pesto Is a Star!

Pesto the penguin chick, who lives at an aquarium in Australia, became famous when he grew larger than his parents.

A fluffy brown penguin chick stands next to adult king penguins that are smaller than he is.

SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium

Pesto (the fluffy brown penguin) waddles around with some adult king penguins at Sea Life aquarium in Melbourne, Australia.

He’s big, he’s feathery, and he’s become a major animal celebrity in Australia. We’re not talking about a kangaroo or a koala—they don’t have feathers. No, Australia’s newest star is Pesto, a king penguin chick that got people talking when he grew larger than his parents.

Pesto was born at the Sea Life aquarium in Melbourne, a city on the country’s southern coast. His father, Blake, is one of the aquarium’s largest king penguins. But even Blake looks small compared to Pesto. The chick, now 10 months old, stands more than 35 inches (90 centimeters) tall and weighs more than 51 pounds (23 kilograms). For comparison, fully grown male king penguins tend to reach about 37 inches (95 centimeters) and weigh 37 pounds (17 kilograms). Pesto will continue to grow for a couple more months. 

A penguin that big can eat a lot. Pesto consumes more than 30 fish a day, which is more than twice what the average adult penguin eats.

Pesto has become a social media star on Instagram and TikTok—and not just because of his unusual size. He was the only king penguin to be born at the aquarium in 2024 and the first since 2022. He’s also adorable. 

A woman sits on a blanket in a penguin enclosure and smiles at Pesto the penguin.

SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium

Pesto the penguin hangs out with Sea Life aquarium senior keeper Michaela Smale.

Pesto may be taller than his dad, but one sign that he’s still a chick is that he’s covered in soft brown feathers (called down feathers). Like other king penguins, he’ll lose his down feathers as he reaches adulthood. At that point, he’ll be black and white, with patches of yellow on his head and chest. 

In fact, the fledgling process (the term for when a young penguin sheds its down feathers) has already begun. Jacinta Early, an aquarist at Sea Life, says Pesto will be a lot smaller without those feathers. He’ll end up weighing about 33 pounds (15 kilograms).

The video shows Pesto in action!

SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium

Face Thinking Icon

Did You Know?

Rarely, genetic mutations can cause penguins to be almost all white or yellow!

A white and tan penguin stands among white and black penguins.

© Fred Bruemmer—Stockbyte/Getty Images

Why Some Chicks Have Feathers

Side by side photos of a naked, newly hatched robin and a newly hatched duck with feathers.

© Gabrielle Hovey/Shutterstock, © Photowitch/Dreamstime.com; Photo composite Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Sure, robins and ducks are different species. But why does one chick have feathers while the other one does not?

Have you ever noticed that some birds hatch with few or no feathers while others hatch with a thick layer of downy feathers? For example, woodpecker chicks are naked when they hatch, while ducklings (baby ducks) are not. You can usually tell a lot about a newly hatched chick based on whether it has feathers!

Scientists say there are two main types of birds: altricial and precocial.

Altricial chicks, like woodpeckers, hummingbirds, and songbirds, hatch with few or no feathers. They’re helpless at birth. Their eyes are closed, and they cannot leave the nest. They depend on their parents to feed them and keep them warm until they grow feathers.

Precocial chicks, like ducks, owls, and chickens, hatch with soft, warm feathers. They can keep their own bodies warm and walk around (and sometimes swim) at a very early age. Some can even feed themselves only a few days after hatching! 

If you read the article at the top of this page, you know penguin chicks have a covering of feathers. But penguins are not precocial because they cannot survive outside the nest at a very young age. Instead, penguins are considered semi-altricial (partly altricial).

Black and White and Cute All Over!

Six different penguin species in their habitats.

 © giedriius, paradoxdes, Olga Khoroshunova/stock.adobe.com, © Josh Anon—500px Prime, Andrew Wasik—500px/Getty Images

Can penguins fly? How many penguin species are there?

Learn more about penguins at Britannica!

Word of the Day Icon

Word of the Day

sensation

Part of speech:

noun

Definition:

:: someone or something that causes a lot of excitement and interest 

Definitions provided by
Merriam-Webster Logo
Game Icon

Play

Word Search

Ten birds are hidden in this puzzle. Can you find them?

O
O
O
O
O

In Case You Missed It

Twelve-year-old Rosili Olson asked leaders in her city to build a playground she designed. They said yes!
November 3, 2024
Jayme Littlefield’s self-taught skills inspired his community, the White Earth Reservation, to give him his own piano.
October 30, 2024
Two giant pandas named Bao Li and Qing Bao recently arrived at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
October 28, 2024
Pesto the penguin chick, who lives at an aquarium in Australia, became famous when he grew larger than his parents.
October 23, 2024