Steve Irwin's son Robert shows he's a chip off the old block on Tonight Show

Adam Boult
Updated

Robert Irwin, son of much-loved Australian naturalist Steve Irwin, demonstrated he is every bit as enthusiastic about wildlife as his father during his appearance on The Tonight Show this week.

Dressed in distinctly Irwin-esque khaki shorts and shirt, Robert seemed thrilled to introduce Fallon to a number of live animals, including a dwarf crocodile, an armadillo, a sloth and a large boa.

When host Jimmy Fallon told him "it's so cool to see you like this, you're actually your Dad," Robert replied: "My Dad was actually on the Tonight Show, quite a while ago, so it's really nice to be able to follow in his footsteps."

Steve Irwin died in 2006, aged 44, when he was injured by a stingray while filming a documentary on the Great Barrier Reef in far north Queensland.

Several Twitter users commented on the similarity between Robert and his late father:

Robert's sister Bindi also commented on the similarlity, tweeting: "Tears in my eyes. So proud of Robert tonight. Robert, you are more and more like Dad every day. I'm forever thankful to be your sister."

Last year more than 20,000 Australians signed a petition asking for Steve Irwin's face to feature on the country's currency.

"It's about time we payed our respects to the all time greatest Australian bloke, Steve Irwin," said petitioner Kyle Ryan.

"Let's make a change for something in the history of our country. It's been ten years without the Aussie icon and although he's been recognised in many ways I'd imagine we could all support the idea of going one step further (well deserved)."

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