Robert Irwin has officially stepped into his dad's shoes as the new Crocodile Hunter

Nick Paschal
·Supervising Producer, Yahoo Entertainment

It’s been 12 years since Steve Irwin, otherwise known as the Crocodile Hunter, died after he was stabbed repeatedly by a stingray while filming for a show. Now, the Irwin family is back on TV with a new show, Crikey! It’s the Irwins, and Steve’s son, Robert, is ready to carry on his dad’s croc hunting torch.

Robert has been working with the crocodiles at the Australia Zoo since he was 10 years old, and now at age 14, he got his first chance to run the croc-feed demonstration. Robert has been training with Wes, who was close friends with Steve. Wes let Robert know that the first crocodile he would be feeding would be the same croc that almost killed his dad when he bit his hand and once took a big bite out of Wes’s leg. So needless to say, this 14-year-old kid had his hands full. But Robert didn’t back down and was able to run the demonstration flawlessly just like his old man. Robert’s mom, Terri, couldn’t have been prouder. Terri said, “The croc death rolled perfectly. It was a brilliant demonstration of what a crocodile would do in the wild, and I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

Robert was, understandably, excited. Following his demonstration, there was just one person on his mind: his father. “Working with crocodiles at Australia Zoo is just a dream. Every time I get to do it, I’m able to really continue dad’s work,” Robert said. “I hope that he’d be proud of the croc work that I’m doing.”

Crikey! It’s the Irwins airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on Animal Planet. Watch clips and full episodes of Crikey! It’s the Irwins for free on Yahoo View.

Check out Robert Irwin on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon:

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