They grow so fast: Pesto, the young viral king penguin from Melbourne Sea Life Aquarium in Australia, begins to lose its baby feathers.

The beloved bird, become a global internet sensation earlier this year, begins to molt. The brown fluff covering its body falls off and its black and white adult feathers begin to grow.

In a recent video Shared by the aquarium, Pesto can be seen waddling around his enclosure as usual. But its once puffy appearance is now a little different: its upper body is still covered in brown fluff, but its lower body sports elegant white plumage. As keen observers online have noted, he looks like he’s wearing shorts.

“We never know how they’re going to fly away,” says Jacinta Early, an aquarist at Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium, at National geographicThis is Allegra Rosenberg. “Sometimes it looks like they’re just wearing a fur vest. Other times, it looks like they have a big mohawk going down their entire body. It’s really funny and random.

The entire process will take around three to four weeks, with keepers expecting Pesto to lose all of his youth by November.

Although its feathers are changing now, Pesto’s beak will remain pure black for the next two years, until it reaches sexual maturity. Then it will have elongated orange spots on either side of the lower part of its beak, characteristic of adults.

Pesto was born at the end of January, making him about 9 months old. His birth was a big deal for the aquarium, in which no king penguin chicks hatched in 2023. It was also the only king penguin to hatch in 2024.

When he was born, Pesto weighed less than half a pound. But as he got older, he began to gain weight quickly, eventually tipping the scales at 50 pounds. For comparison, adult king penguins typically weigh between 31 and 37 pounds. Pesto is the the biggest chick Sea Life Melbourne has never had.

The aquarium displayed the pesto to the public in April. But it wasn’t until staff threw a gender reveal party in September that the enormous baby bird became a global celebrity.

Pesto is raised by two adoptive parents named Tango and Hudson, since his biological father, Blake, is the oldest penguin in the aquarium and probably too tired to raise a chick. But Blake is also the largest adult penguin in the aquarium, and his genetics may partly explain Pesto’s gargantuan size. Plus the huge baby has a Enjoy your mealfeasting on 25 fish – sand whiting, rainbow trout and salmon – every day.

As Pesto grows, keepers expect him to lose weight. He’ll still be big like his dad, but the Pesto will probably weigh closer to 33 pounds in adulthood.

Molting This is one of the main reasons why king penguins lose weight as they grow. The process of shedding old feathers and growing new ones requires a lot of energy, so birds use up some of the fat stored under their skin.

King penguins usually molt when they are between 10 and 12 months. Pesto’s timeline is sped up a bit, likely due to the abundance of food available to it in captivity, according to National geographic.

In the wild, king penguin chicks usually only molt after their parents return in the spring to feed them. Chicks spend the winter youngthese spring feedings therefore give them an essential calorie intake and allow them to build up the fat reserves they need for the energy-intensive metamorphosis.

Once they have grown their adult feathers, king penguins are much better protected against the harsh sub-Antarctic elements. Mature king penguins have four in total layers of feathers-three fluffy inner layers, topped with an oily, waterproof outer layer.

These adaptations are less important in captivity, where the enclosures are air-conditioned. But his new set of waterproof feathers will allow Pesto to finally be able to go swimming with his many penguin friends and admirers.

“His best friend is his father Hudson,” according to one FAQ page set up by the aquarium. “Aunt Queenie also loves babysitting. Other young birds like Honey and Sausage are very fascinated by Pesto.

Even though he was entering his difficult teenage phase, Pesto’s popularity never waned. Celebrities like Katy Perry And Olivia Rodrigo stopped by to meet the Internet star in real life. Melbourne street artist Lukas Kasper also painted a massive pesto wall mural in the city.

Hordes of non-celebrities also visited Pesto, including Millie Jacoby, a 25-year-old who had already visited twice in late September.

“We walked in and there was just this big fluffy penguin…and we fell in love,” Jacoby says. BBC News” Tiffanie Turnbull. “He deserves to be famous.”