Olivia Rodrigo Meets Pesto the Baby Penguin Who’s Gone Viral for His Furry (and Hefty!) Body

Mar. 15, 2025

Olivia Rodrigo and Pesto.Photo:Olivia Rodrigo/Instagram; livbedumb/TikTok

Olivia Rodrigo/Instagram; livbedumb/TikTok

Olivia Rodrigois now best friends with someone who doesn’t need a driver’s license to get around.

Olivia Rodrigo and Pesto.livbedumb/TikTok

livbedumb/TikTok

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“Thanks for the visit Olivia! Pesto loved meeting another super fan 🐧 Good luck with the rest of your Melbourne shows!” Sea Life Melbourne replied to Rodrigo’s post.

Rodrigo also shared two pictures from her visit on her Instagram Stories. She was dressed for the cool temps inside the aquarium’s penguin enclosure.

Pesto is a 10-month-old king penguin and weighs about 46 pounds, according toSea Life Melbourne’s website. He is the largest chick the aquarium has ever seen and is even larger than his parents. His biological father, Blake, is the aquarium’s biggest adult and oldest penguin.

The penguin is likely to lose weight when he fledges, or when he develops adult feathers. His keepers predict he will weigh around 33 pounds during the process, reports theAssociated Press.

Olivia Rodrigo and Pesto.Olivia Rodrigo/Instagram

Olivia Rodrigo/Instagram

“Pesto has reached more than 1.9 billion people across the globe, so he really is a draw card for visitation to Victoria,” Sea Life Melbourne senior keeper Michaela Smale told9Newsin September.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

Despite his age, Pesto’s keepers didn’t know he was a boy until last month. King penguins are non-sexually dimorphic, so they do not have visible traits to allow keepers to distinguish their sex. They needed a blood sample to discover Pesto is male. Thegender reveal videologged over 1.7 million views on TikTok.

Rodrigo began a four-night stand at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena on Oct. 9. On Oct. 17, she will start another four-night stand, this time at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. HerGuts World Tourwill continue with a group of dates in South America in March.

source: people.com