NEWSRobert Irwin Felt 'Warmth' of Late Father Steve Irwin When Miraculously Encountering a Wild Crocodile the Conservationist Previously Tagged
Robert Irwin felt the 'warmth' of late father Steve Irwin when miraculously encountering a wild crocodile the conservationist previously tagged.
March 11 2026, Published 5:16 p.m. ET
Robert Irwin feels his late father Steve’s presence in his conservationist work — nearly two decades after the TV personality’s passing.
During the Wednesday, March 11, episode of the “All There Is With Anderson Cooper” podcast, the 22-year-old recalled miraculously coming across a crocodile his father found 20 years prior.
Steve Irwin died in 2006.
“I'm always closest to dad when I'm in the middle of nowhere, you know, when I'm out in the bush. And there are absolutely moments where I'll be hit with this sense of…it's warmth, it's like something kind of wraps around me,” Robert expressed. “And I will absolutely sit and just say, ‘How do I go forward? How do you move forward?’...There are moments that I have found that feel like he's trying to say something.”
Robert Irwin Recalls 'Special' Moment Receiving a 'Sign' From Late Dad Steve
Robert Irwin is following in his father's footsteps as a conservationist.
The Dancing With the Stars alum detailed a “beautiful” and “special” moment that occurred the first time he led the team of a crocodile capture in a Northern Australia research expedition, a tradition Steve began between 20 and 25 years prior.
“To be team leader on a research expedition is a very, very, very big deal. It's like a rite of passage,” Robert emphasized. “I'm nervous, my heart is pounding. We do the capture, and this bloke put me through it. He's death rolling. Head shaking, a couple of really close calls on my behalf. We go to attach all of the satellite trackers, right? This satellite tracker that just sits here.”
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'It Was a Crocodile My Dad Caught 20 Years Ago'
Robert Irwin found a crocodile his father previously tagged.
His team realized that one of the crocodiles had a tracking device on it, which seemed “impossible” considering the animal wasn’t in any of their records. As Robert laid on the reptile, he noticed a "distinct marking on one of his scales” and had a sudden "epiphany."
“I went, ‘Hang on a minute, let me check this photo.’ And there was this old, old photo that I remember of my dad with a giant crocodile that he'd caught like 20 years ago,” the young zookeeper explained. “And I look at the scale and this pattern, and then I look at where the tracker used to be, and I'm like, ‘Yep, that is exactly how he attached it.’ It was a crocodile that my dad had caught 20 years ago.”
'These Bloody Irwins'
Robert Irwin still feels connected to his father, Steve.
Robert used satellite technology to discover more information, including that he caught the crocodile in the same spot where Steve did his exhibition 20 years prior.
“I'm sitting, I'm laying on this croc and I feel his breath on my face,” the 22-year-old recalled. “And I'm looking at this guy and he's looking at me and he's probably thinking, ‘These bloody Irwins.’ And I'm like, ‘Whoa, I'm one-on-one with this dinosaur that my dad first experienced.’ I felt like that was dad being like, ‘This is your first time leading the team. You're on the right track. Here's a little sign.’”
Steve passed away in 2006 after being pierced in the heart by a stingray. Robert and his family strive to continue his legacy as a conservationist.
