Steve Irwin is the famed zookeeper and naturalist who sadly passed away in 2006, killed by a stingray spike that pierced his chest. He was survived by his wife, Terri, and his son and daughter, Robert and Bindi. He also left behind an incredible record of preserving nature, including the Irwin’s turtle species, named after him because he rescued a female specimen from croc-infested waters.
It was that rare species of freshwater turtle that led his son, Robert Irwin, who followed in his footsteps and became a zookeeper, to post about his late dad on TikTok in a video that was as exciting as it is moving. In it, Robert remembers his father and shows the hatching of one of an Irwin’s turtle, an extremely rare event that shows the species is surviving, if only by a thread.
Robert captioned the video, “Wow. This was a special moment. I think Dad would be pretty proud that we’ve become the first to successfully breed the turtle that he discovered. A rare, and unique species under threat in the wild has just been given a second chance.”
In the video itself, he explained, “This is one of the highlights of my entire life and one of the most special moments ever for Australia Zoo. This is the very first Elseya irwini, or Irwin’s turtle, ever hatched for any zoological facility anywhere in the world.”
The video then shows Robert holding the tiny, rare turtle in his palm before releasing it into a pond in the zoo. Explaining what happens next, he says, “Right now, he’s getting in his first swim in a brand new pond. This is a little slice of the wild. Let’s get him in the water.” Watching the tiny turtle swim around the pond and explore its new habitat, Robert says, “Off he goes.”
That’s when things get emotional. His voice wavering, Robert speaks about how proud and excited his dad would be, saying, “It’s just so surreal. And all those stories from Dad about just how amazing and beautiful they are… I don’t get emotional that much, but I just know Dad would be really proud, Dad would be stoked.”
Watch the immensely powerful video here:
@robertirwin Wow. This was a special moment. I think Dad would be pretty proud that we’ve become the first to successfully breed the turtle that he discovered. A rare, and unique species under threat in the wild has just been given a second chance.
Commenting on the video, people left heartwarming comments like “The greatest legacy Steve Irwin left was his amazing kids. They seem to have the same love and compassion for the world as he did. It’s beautiful” and “Your Dad is SO STOKED with the absolute beautiful legacy his family has carried on in his name. I get choked up every time I see Steve Irwin old film.”
Many more joined in with similarly emotional messages, saying things like “I’m pretty sure everyone in the world just got a little emotional over this video. We all miss your dad! May he rest in his wildlife heaven” and “All Steve wanted was his kids to understand his love for animals and conservation. Both of his kids are doing exactly what he dreamed of❤️”
Steve Irwin featured image credit: By Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE – The Late " Crocodile Hunter " Steve Irwin after playing with Dingos, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40796274; Robert Irwin featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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