Melbourne Aquarium Celebrates Baby Penguin's Gender Reveal in Cutest Possible Way
It's a...BOY! Employees at SEA LIFE Melbourne are celebrating the gender reveal of one of their youngest animals — Pesto! The King penguin has attracted a lot of attention the world over for his extra-large size. But it was only recently that the aquarium learned that Pesto was a male.
It took months of waiting, but staff recently learned Pesto's gender in a fun celebration.
According to a video from the Herald Sun, Senior Keeper Michaela Smale knew she wanted to do something fun to make the announcement. It was something that staff members had been waiting for for a long time.
She gathered everyone around and cut into cake — just like they do for human babies. The plan was for the inside frosting to be blue or pink, revealing whether Pesto was a boy or girl. And the answer was (drumroll please)...a boy! Yep, Pesto is a male.
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Smale also cleared some of the snow in the penguin enclosure for the celebration, which was also blue. We love it when a party has a theme!
People in the comments section were obsessed with Pesto's big reveal. "This is the cutest thing ever, stop," wrote one person. "Dang, I was hoping for a girl but woo!!" another person added. "Best gender reveal I’ve ever seen!" exclaimed another commenter. "Need to see him fully grown," wrote one person, probably referring to Pesto's notable size.
Pesto Is Huge for His Age
The penguin is only 9 months old but already he's made a huge splash at the aquarium for his large size. The King penguin currently weighs over 40 lbs. Pesto was born back in January and has been a hit at SEA LIFE ever since.
The aquarium first announced Pesto's birth back in April on Instagram. At the time, Pesto was already a few months old, but he hadn't been ready for public viewing until that point.
"Sporting a fluffy coat of downy feathers, Pesto now weighs 9.1 kilograms," they wrote in their post. "With a diet consisting of nutrient-rich fish provided by keepers, little Pesto is growing stronger by the day, poised to become a magnificent ambassador for its species."
Today, Pesto eats a whopping 25 fish per day and is larger than some of the full-grown penguins he lives with. He's not even his adult size yet! We can see what the commotion is about, mind you. He's absolutely adorable and is sure to get even cuter as he grows.
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