Pesto the chonky Australian penguin chick captivates Katy Perry and the internet

SYDNEY - Pesto the huge king penguin chick has drawn hundreds of visitors to an Australian aquarium, and now the bird can count Katy Perry as one of his biggest fans.

The US pop star, in Melbourne to perform at the Australian Football League Grand Final on Saturday, told Channel Seven she wanted to "kiss Pesto" during her trip.

Chocolate-brown and fluffy, Pesto is a nine-month-old King penguin who weighs 23.5 kg (52 lb), more than twice the combined weight of his parents.

He is also the largest chick Sea Life Melbourne has ever seen, and that has gained him a global fan base, said Michaela Smale, who has been caring for Pesto since he hatched.

Most of Pesto's weight comes from the brown fuzz that keeps penguin chicks warm through winter. They later lose weight as they develop adult feathers.

Like all king penguins, Pesto is non-sexually dimorphic, which means he does not have externally visible traits that distinguish him from female penguins.

A gender reveal event earlier this month was all over social media, while many of his videos on TikTok have notched up more than a million likes.

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"We've been waiting a very long time to find out Pesto's gender and the fact that he is a boy is super exciting because our last king penguins that hatched were all female," Smale told Reuters.

Pesto's parents, Tango and Hudson, take care of him along with the keepers who feed him 25 fish a day. The average parental care for a baby king penguin can span over a year.