Australia Zoo/Facebook/Steve Irwin/FacebookSince Steve Irwin’s tragic passing, his family’s animal conservation efforts are emblematic of everything he stood for. In this new image, his son’s likeness to the crocodile hunter is staggering.
On September 4, 2006, the Australian was diving in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef, when a stingray shot its poisonous barb into his heart. According to a friend and colleague, John Stainton, who was on the boat at the time, Steve got too close to the stingray.
Nearly 14 years later, his son Robert has blossomed into another Wildlife Warrior – never so vividly realised than in a recent photo, uncannily reminiscent of an early 2000s snaps of the late animal lover.
Two days ago, on February 11, Robert uploaded a photo to his Instagram account of him cuddling a koala bear. With golden locks and the same love for the animal, it’s exactly like an old photo of Steve, also with a koala.
We all have a soft spot for koalas. Steve and Terri opened the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital in 2004 to treat sick,…
Posted by Australia Zoo on Sunday, January 19, 2020
Fans were quick to point out their likeness in the photos, with one writing: ‘You have never looked more like your father than you do in this picture. And your smile radiates that.’
Another commented: ‘Didn’t look at the name on the shirt and honest to god thought I was looking at Steve,’ while a third fan agreed: ‘I thought I was looking at an old photo of Steve. You look so much like your Dad!’
It’s not the time Robert has been compared to his dad: in July last year, he shared two photos of him and his father in the exact same pose, feeding the same hungry crocodile (named Murray). Robert wrote alongside the post: ‘Dad and me feeding Murray… same place, same croc – two photos 15 years apart.’
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.