Giant baby penguin causes 'waves' on social networks

Pesto, although only 9 months old, has become the center of attention with a height of 90cm and a weight of 22.5kg, bigger than his parents at Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium.

The baby penguin Pesto is larger than the adults, including his parents. (Photo: SEA LIFE Melbourne).

King penguins are born covered in brown feathers, a far cry from the black and white adult birds that many people are familiar with. Once they learn to swim, a process called eclosion begins, replacing the downy feathers with waterproof feathers.

Another interesting thing is that penguins have gender differences that are invisible to the naked eye. To determine gender, caretakers must take a drop of blood from their toes and analyze the DNA, from which they can give an accurate answer about the bird's gender.

Sea Life's Instagram page has more than 25,000 followers. Pesto's father, Blake, is one of the aquarium's oldest and largest penguins. Pesto is fed more than 30 fish a day - twice as much as the average adult penguin.

Because they are still young, they are also fed a little extra food by their parents. That amount of food means they produce a lot of waste. They poop about every 15 minutes, requiring constant cleaning by their keepers to keep the area clean for visitors.