Robert Irwin (television personality)

Robert Clarence Irwin was born on 1 December 2003 in Buderim, Queensland, the younger of two children and the only son of Steve and Terri Irwin. His first and middle names are named in honor of both of his paternal and maternal grandfathers, Bob Irwin and Clarence Raines.[3] His father died from a stingray injury to the heart while filming an underwater documentary when Robert was two years old. Robert and his sister, Bindi Irwin, were home schooled at Australia Zoo following their father's death.[4] He is a dual citizen of Australia (through his birth) and the United States (through his mother). His ancestry is English and has an abundance of Irish on his father's side.

During a public show one month after Robert was born, his father carried him in his arm while hand-feeding a chicken carcass to a 3.8-metre (12 ft 6 in) saltwater crocodile. Robert was close to the crocodile, and the incident sparked comparisons in the press to Michael Jackson dangling of his eldest son, Prince Michael Jackson II, outside a German hotel window.[5] The incident prompted the Queensland Government to change its crocodile-handling laws, banning children and untrained adults from entering crocodile enclosures.[6] However, special dispensation is granted to a child who has met a very strict set of guidelines and training requirements. Per The Sydney Morning Herald, "The only time a child will be able to enter an enclosure is under a strict, long-term training program which ensures safety controls."[6] In 2012, at age 8¾ and after extensive training and under expert supervision, Irwin was allowed to feed freshwater crocodiles for the first time,[7] whose males max out at about 3 metres (9.8 ft).[8]

Irwin in 2011

In 2009, Irwin had a cameo appearance in Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove.[9] In 2012, Irwin appeared alongside his mother and sister in a television series entitled Steve Irwin's Wildlife Warriors, which earned him a 2013 Logie Award nomination for Most Popular New Male Talent.[10] In 2014 and 2015, Irwin co-hosted a television series named Wild But True on Discovery Kids Channel.[9] The show was later nominated for an International Emmy Kids Award in the factual category in 2016.[11]

In 2013, Irwin released a series of books, titled Dinosaur Hunter, which he co-authored with Lachlan Creag and Jack Wells.[12]

In 2015, he appeared as a guest on the British wildlife series Ten Deadliest Snakes in the episode focused on Australia's venomous snakes. He guided presenter Nigel Marven in the billabong of Australia Zoo to look for a red-bellied black snake.

Irwin was runner-up in the junior category of the 2016 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition.[13][14] Irwin is also a photography contributor to the Australia Zoo Crikey magazine.[15] He uses his love for photography to help raise awareness about wildlife conservation. He has also raised tens of thousands of dollars for the Irwins' non-profit organization Crocodile Diaries by auctioning canvas prints of his work at events around the world. He has also met with world leaders such as His Majesty King Charles III to discuss the protection of natural habitat.[15]

On 16 February 2017, Irwin made his late-night television debut when he appeared on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. He presented an African dwarf crocodile, a screaming armadillo, a red-tailed boa, and a sloth to the host, Jimmy Fallon.[16][17][18] Irwin subsequently went back to appear on The Tonight Show on multiple occasions, showcasing a different selection of animals each time. As of April 2019, Irwin has appeared on the show eleven times.

Irwin is also an avid photographer and is also the leading photography contributor to the Australia Zoo Crikey magazine. He has also embarked upon many photography expeditions around the globe, from the savannah of Africa to the mountains of New Zealand, the wilderness of Europe and everywhere in between.[15]

On 6 April 2017, Irwin was invested as a member and ambassador of Scouts Australia, formalising a partnership between the organisation and Australia Zoo. The aim of the partnership is to encourage Australia's young people to become involved with wilderness and conservation.[19][20] He has also given various interviews to magazines for teenagers as a current reference such as Vanity.[21]

On Australia Zoo TV, Irwin appears on his own channel.[22]

In February 2022, during filming for an episode of Crikey! It's the Irwins, 18-year-old Irwin had to make an emergency escape from a crocodile enclosure after an overzealous 3.7-metre-long (12 ft), 350-kilogram (770 lb) saltwater crocodile, named Casper, ignored the food Irwin was offering him and instead made a beeline for Irwin himself. Irwin managed to scale the enclosure walls just in time and avoided injury.[23][24][25]

In October 2023, it was announced that Irwin would replace Dr Chris Brown as the co-host of Network 10's reality television show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! alongside returning host Julia Morris, for the shows tenth season set to premier in 2024.[26][27]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robert Irwin.

• Robert Irwin Photos
• Robert Irwin at IMDb
• Wild Life Warriors
• Australia Zoo