There's a big baby that's been making the rounds on the Internet: a baby bird.
Meet Pest, the nine-month-old king penguin chick that's stealing hearts and increasing attendance at SEA LIFE Aquarium in Melbourne, Australia.
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Plague weighs heavier than his proud parents combined, at a whopping 49 pounds. His parents, Hudson and Tango, weigh about 24 pounds each.
A statement from Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium said Pest was the sickest chick they had ever bred.
His gender was revealed by zookeeper Michaela Smale, who said: “I used a shovel to[ed] We brush aside mountains of fresh snow and unleash an avalanche of blue.”
According to the aquarium, Pest has a “voracious appetite, eating 25 fish a day,” which explains its enormous size.
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It's not just Pest's weight that's growing: His following on the social media site TikTok has skyrocketed, with the aquarium saying the chick has been viewed nearly 2 billion times worldwide.
SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium General Manager Claire Burell said of Pest: “He has brought immense joy to all of us here at SEA LIFE Melbourne and to penguin fans around the world and we look forward to sharing his future adventures with you all, including his fledgeling and subsequent swimming lessons.”
Here, Pest is pictured with Michaela, a zookeeper at SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium. (Sea Life Aquarium Melbourne)
As Pest approaches adulthood, her rapid growth plateaus as a chick, which has already begun to molt its brown feathers and will then transition to the king penguin's distinctive black and white plumage.
Aquarium keepers expect Pest to lose his baby weight as he grows, to about 33 pounds.
The combined weight of parents Hudson and Tango is less than that of a large baby Pest. (Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium)
“He'll start shedding his really cute baby hair. It might take a month or two for it to be completely gone, and then he'll have a really smooth, neat body,” one of the zookeepers told The Associated Press.
Pest hatched on January 31st, and during the chunky penguin's time as a chick, the aquarium said, “Pest has been a real crowd-pleaser.”
According to the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Union, adult king penguins weigh between 21 and 40 pounds.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
