At just 9 months old, Pesto the baby king penguin weighs more than both his parents combined: "Our chonky king."

In late January, caretakers at Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium in Australia were ecstatic when a king penguin chick successfully emerged from his shell. The baby, which they named Pesto, was the only king penguin born at the aquarium in the last two years.

Pesto the penguin has taken over the internet as the fluffy baby is capturing hearts. The new social media celebrity has become a star attraction at an Australian aquarium. The king penguin chick went viral for the unusually enormous size and has been racking up views online.

Pesto the giant nine-month-old penguin chick is remarkably calm, curious and friendly. Moments after we walk onto the ice, he appears, waddling behind his father, and stops a metre away, almost ready for his close-up.

Baby Pesto is a nine-month-old king penguin who has taken the internet by storm by being huge and already grown taller than his parents. He’s bigger, in fact, than most of the other penguins in the zoo, but stands out because he still has all of his baby down instead of the white, black, and orange feathers of the adults.

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.