Human Interest Animals Zoos Olivia Rodrigo Meets Pesto the Baby Penguin Who’s Gone Viral for His Furry (and Hefty!) Body "Pesto loved meeting another super fan," Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium wrote after the singer stopped by while in Australia By Daniel S. Levine Daniel S. Levine Daniel Levine is a Staff Editor at PEOPLE. He joined PEOPLE in 2022. His work previously appeared at PopCulture.com, Heavy, and TheCelebrityCafe.com. People Editorial Guidelines Published on October 11, 2024 06:45PM EDT Comments Olivia Rodrigo and Pesto. Photo: Olivia Rodrigo/Instagram; livbedumb/TikTok Olivia Rodrigo is now best friends with someone who doesn't need a driver's license to get around. While visiting Melbourne, Australia, during her Guts World Tour, Rodrigo, 21, stopped by the Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium, home of Pesto. The giant baby penguin has become a TikTok star thanks to his size and furry body. On Friday, Oct. 11, the “Get Him Back!” singer shared a clip from the aquarium on TikTok, set to audio from a sketch by Instagram star @BlameItOnKway. “Who are you?” Pesto asks. “I’m Pam, who are you,” Rodrigo replies, mouthing to the sketch. “I’m the owner of this house,” Pesto says as the clip cuts back to the penguin. Olivia Rodrigo and Pesto. livbedumb/TikTok Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to 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 to Sea 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 the Associated Press. Olivia Rodrigo and Pesto. Olivia Rodrigo/Instagram Pesto the Baby Penguin Goes Viral as 9-Month-Old Eats 25 Fish a Day “He’s going to start losing that really adorable baby fluff,” Sea Life Melbourne education supervisor Jacinta Early told the AP in September. “It might take him one to two months to really get rid of it. Then he’ll be nice and sleek and streamlined.” “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 told 9News in September. Olivia Rodrigo and Pesto. Olivia Rodrigo/Instagram 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. The gender reveal video logged 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. Her Guts World Tour will continue with a group of dates in South America in March. Close