(Gray News) – Pesto is growing up.
Pesto the penguin, who lives at the Sea Life Aquarium in Melbourne, Australia, became a viral sensation for his ginormous size as a baby.
The king penguin is now losing his baby feathers, a process known as fledging, and adult feathers are starting to take their place.
The aquarium said Pesto will continue to fledge over the next few weeks.
“Don’t worry, he’ll still be just as adorable, he’ll just be rocking his new tuxedo!” the aquarium wrote on its website.
Once he has all his adult feathers, Pesto will take his first swim.
Pesto is a king penguin, the second largest species of penguin behind the emperor penguin.
He was born earlier this year and quickly captured hearts globally, “not just for his adorable antics, but for his impressive size,” according to the aquarium.
Some of Sea Life’s TikTok videos featuring Pesto have gained millions of views, including one showing him towering over the adult penguins as a baby.
Sea Life said Pesto is the largest penguin they have ever seen. He eats 25 fish a day.
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