Australian conservationist, “Dancing with the Stars” winner, and the host of the new “Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro,” Robert Irwin, has channeled his late father, Steve Irwin, in his latest social media post.
Steve, of course, tragically passed away in 2006, at the age of just 44, after being pierced in the chest by a short-tail stingray barb while filming the documentary series “Ocean’s Deadliest” in the Great Barrier Reef with oceanographer Philippe Cousteau Jr.
Robert, 22, is following in his dad’s footsteps in many ways, managing Australia Zoo in Beerwah, Queensland, and frequently involving himself in activities that Steve participated in before him.
However, never has he more closely resembled his father than in his most recent Instagram video.
Robert Irwin Shows off ‘Beautiful Little Freshwater Crocodile’
In a post to his 9.6 million followers on his Instagram account, Robert Irwin showed off one of Australia Zoo’s resident baby crocodiles.
The post comprises an 86-second clip in which Robert holds the creature and displays all the contagious enthusiasm that his father, Steve Irwin, became known for.
Robert introduces the crocodile by saying, “This is a freshwater crocodile, one of my absolute favorite crocs of all time.”
He then reels off a plethora of interesting facts about the creatures. They include the fact that they’re an Australian species, the fact that their vocalizations deepen with age, the fact that their tail enables them to move through water quickly, the fact that their long snout is what enables them to grab food like fish, and many more that you can learn by watching the video in full.
Robert ended the video by pointing out that the little guy still still has about “eight or nine” foot to grow and told it “time to get big!”
The star’s fans and followers loved the clip and agreed with Robert that the baby crocodile was cute.
Irwin’s Followers Flocked to the Comments Section
GettyRobert Irwin’s fans and followers flocked to the comments section of his post to have their say on the baby crocodile.
One of Irwin’s followers commented, “Please tell him we all said “waaaAAHHH” back 🐊.”
Another follower said, “He is so adorable! His little noises are just the cutest. ❤️”
Someone else wrote, “I never in 1 million years thought I’d ever find reptiles cute, but here I am! That crock is adorable! Of course, the size of a thing is directly proportion to how adorable it is.”
“He is actually really cute… then he grows up and eats me 🤣,” said another Instagram user.
Somebody else said, “EeeeEAAAHEe. Such a cute noise.”
Finally, one person had an interesting question for Robert (which is yet to be answered). They asked, “My kids love this video and what to know: would that little guy bite a finger off if he chomped down? So cute and beautiful.”
It’s great to see Robert Irwin channeling his father and changing people’s opinions of certain wild animals. The fact he’s making people see crocodiles as “cute” would undoubtedly make Steve smile.
You can catch Robert Irwin hosting “Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro” every Monday evening on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.
