Robert Irwin is committed to continuing his dad's legacy. Robert was not even 3 years old when he lost his father, zookeeper, conservationist, and television personality Steve Irwin. Steve died in 2006, at age 44, after being stung by a stingray. Now, at age 20, his son Robert is "continuing an important legacy and working to create [his] own."
In a touching video, Robert reflected on how he has followed in his dad's footsteps as a conservationist, television personality, and zookeeper. The video included a clip of Steve sharing the one thing that would make him want to give up what he was doing at the time.
In the clip, Steve explained that he dreamed of his children following in his footsteps and continuing to do conservation work — which is exactly what Robert and Steve's daughter, Bindi Irwin, 26, have done.
"Is there anything in this world that would wanna make me give away what I'm doing now?" Steve said in the clip. "Yes, there is. When my children can take the football that I call wildlife conservation and run it up."
In the video, Robert said, "I've always wanted to continue my dad's legacy." The touching video showed some examples of how Robert is making Steve's dream a reality and continuing his legacy. Sharing his dad's love for nature and conservation, Robert is passionate about "wildlife photography, conservation and teaching people about the importance of the natural world," according to the Australia Zoo website. Crocodiles are also his favorite animals — his dad was known as "The Crocodile Hunter."
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In the recent video, Robert shared that he has grown to understand the importance of creating his own legacy as well. "My life has been dedicated to continuing an important legacy and working to create my own," he captioned the video. "I’m passionate about sharing a message through everything I do in front of and behind the camera, and I’m very honoured to be recognised for that ."
Robert's mom, Terri Irwin, commented on the post to tell her son that she's "so proud" of him.
"I know your dad is proud too. As you forge your own path in this world, you continue to shine a light on your dad’s message and mission," Terri wrote. "The world is a better place because of you. I love you!"
Although Robert lost his dad when he was very young, he previously told The Australian Women Weekly that he thinks about him every day.
"When you lose someone, a father figure, at such a young age, who is such a commanding presence of positivity and everything that is good in the world, of course all I want is for him to be here for me; to go, 'What do you think about this, what do you think about that?" he told the outlet. "There are so many things I wish I could ask him on so many levels."
On Instagram, Robert often shares examples of how he's continuing his dad's work. On August 7, 2024, he shared photos from a crocodile research trip. "First step to catching crocs for our crocodile research trip, is building the traps… utilising the very same techniques Dad came up with. We haven’t had to change a thing," he wrote.
