Meet Pesto the Penguin, the chubby star who's waddling into hearts everywhere and went viral overnight

A penguin named Pesto has gained international attention due to his extraordinary size. Pesto, housed at Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium in Australia, is a king penguin and is significantly larger than what is typical for his species. At nine months old, Pesto stands 90 cm tall and weighs 22.5 kg, surpassing even his caregiver parents, Tango and Hudson. King penguins generally grow between 70 cm and 100 cm and weigh 14 kg to 16 kg as adults.

Michaela Smale, a senior keeper at Sea Life Melbourne, stated to 9News that Pesto has become a viral sensation. "Pesto has reached more than 1.9 billion people across the globe, so he really is a drawcard for visitation to Victoria," she said.

Pesto was born in January weighing just 200 grams. At three months, he weighed 9.1 kg, and now, at nine months, he has grown significantly. Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium explains, "The combination of good genes and good parents explains his current weight, but he will lose a lot of this when he fledges."

Pesto's size is largely due to his biological father, Blake, who is among the largest and oldest penguins at the aquarium. Pesto consumes around 25 fish a day to maintain his weight. As he matures and undergoes molting between 10 to 13 months, he is expected to slim down to around 15 kg.

In related news, Moo Deng, a two-month-old female pygmy hippopotamus at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand, has also captured social media attention. Moo Deng has a 24/7 livestream, and her nickname, “bouncy pork,” was chosen through a poll on the zoo's Facebook page. Moo Deng gained popularity from videos posted by zookeeper Atthapon Nundee. He shared, “I started making videos just for fun...So, I recorded videos when she was being adorable.” Moo Deng was introduced to the public on July 25.

Both Pesto and Moo Deng have become symbols of fascination for animal lovers worldwide.