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.

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 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.

Moo Deng the baby pygmy hippo had her day in the viral TikTok sun and all the memes that came with her. Now? There’s a new viral sensation out there in the animal world, and it’s a big, fluffy penguin named Pesto in Australia, specifically at Melbourne’s Sea Life Aquarium.

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.

His rotund fame is 'only going to keep growing'.

The beloved king penguin chick, Pesto, has gone viral on social media and the care team at the Melbourne Zoo finally announced that Pesto is a boy in this adorable gender reveal video.

When it comes time for Pesto to get his dinner, he knows that good things are worth the wait. Video shot at SEA LIFE Melbourne where the penguin lives shows the 46 lbs. baby gearing up for his meal. Pesto is less than a year old but already towers over all the other penguins in the enclosure.