Watch as Robert Irwin talks about his love of wildlife in the video below.
Video credit: ET Canada
Steve Irwin’s son says he wants to experience the wildlife much like his legendary father – by putting his life on the line.
In a recent interview with DailyMailTV, Robert Irwin revealed how his dangerous interactions with wild animals are ‘his passion’ and how he won’t stop them despite all the potential dangers.
The 15-year-old joked that he considered driving in LA to be more dangerous than his work as a zoo advocate, TV host, and wildlife conservationist.
Robert said ‘there’s always, always going to be close calls with wildlife and it’s exciting.’
The teen added that ‘we never know how long we are going to be on this earth for, you’ve got to make the most of everyday.’
Robert’s adventurous nature is fully supported by his mother Terri.
Terri, Robert, and Bindi (Steve’s daughter) opened up about their passion for wildlife at the Paley Center’s Evening with the Irwins.
The family was there for promoting the second season of their Animal Planet’s show – Crikey! It’s the Irwins.
Robert said: ‘I definitely get asked a lot about this – is what you do dangerous, this is crazy, jumping on crocodiles and all this crazy stuff. But the thing is, driving to this event was probably 10 times more dangerous than any crocodile I’ve ever jumped on by far.
‘So the thing is, we all live dangerous lives to a certain extent, whether we realize it or not. We never know how long we are going to be on this earth for, you’ve got to make the most of every day.
‘But I think for me, the wildlife work that I get to do, it’s what I live for. It’s what I love, it’s my passion, it’s what dad was passionate about, it’s what my family is passionate about. It’s something that I definitely want to continue for the rest of my life, it’s what I’ve dedicated my life to.
‘That’s the thing, there’s always, always going to be close calls with wildlife and it’s exciting, that’s what makes it fun. It’s edge of your seat because you don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s completely unpredictable and it’s the spice of life, it’s great.
‘I’d rather be doing that then a desk job for sure.’
Terri added that she cannot stop Robert from pursuing his passion.
She said: ‘I think it’s about learning about wildlife and having those experiences. If you love to ski, you always love that more challenging slope.
‘And if you love mountain biking, you don’t want to do the little tiny jumps. So I understand that butterflies are beautiful but bears are kind of awesome so I get that and I share that with him and his passion as well.’
Terri said the death of her husband was a mere accident and it wasn’t that Steve was taking severe risks.
Crocodile hunter Steve Irwin died in 2006 after a stingray barb pierced his heart while he was filming a documentary underwater. Irwin was 44 at the time.
Defending Steve’s shoot, Terri said: ‘Steve would have been as shocked as anybody for an ocean pancake to kill him. I mean think about it, these are beautiful, shy, really special animals.
‘And with this particular ray, it had been interacting with Steve on it’s own accord for a long time, so I think when Steve did a final ending shot, I think the ray might have forgotten about him and thought he was a shark or something and was acting defensively. So I don’t want anyone to not love rays.
‘They’re beautiful, please don’t be afraid of them. The last time an accident like that happened in Australia was 75 years earlier. It was just a fluke accident. And I can remember Steve used to say to me, I hope a crocodile doesn’t get me because I don’t want people to hate crocodiles.
‘None of us know, when your time is up, you need to reveal in every day. Every day has to be special, and Steve did that so I really feel no regrets and I’m very proud of the way he lived.’
20-year-old Bindi, who’s also the winner of ABC’s Dancing With The Stars, said her brother’s outlook on life is just like that of her father.
‘He’s a lot like dad. Honestly, he is more and more like dad every single day,’ she said. ‘Where he walks like dad, talks like dad, he likes to deal with more challenging animals like dad.
‘I am so proud of him. And of course being the older sister, I am very protective and worried about him always but he is so good with every animal and in this next season you’ll see he’s taking on a lot of new challenges.
‘Some that are quite large and a little intimidating but he is so kind and patient and really intelligent that we always know that he’s going to be safe, and we’re always here for him so no matter what at the end of the day we’re a family and always going to support each other.’
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