People often say, “Like father, like son,” and Robert Irwin seems to be the son who looks most like his dad.
The young man just turned 19, and a touching video showed him getting excited when he got a message from his late dad, Steve Irwin.
In 2006, when Robert Irwin was only three years old, his father died after being hurt by a stingray. He was only 44 years old.
This meant that he spent most of his childhood without his father. However, that hasn’t stopped him from becoming a wildlife warrior at Australia Zoo, like his dad.
There, he got the touching message as part of a collection made for him on December 1 to mark the start of his last year as a teenager.
In the message, Steve talked about Robert’s birth and how he hoped Robert would grow up to be the next crocodile hunter.
Steve said that he knew he could die tomorrow, even though he was doing important work with wildlife.
That’s why he thought it was so important to raise children who could carry on his work, and Steve said that if he did, it would be “the proudest moment of my life.”
The video then cuts to Robert doing exactly what his father expected him to do.
After it ends, Robert says:
Making me cry on my birthday.
It means the absolute world,
he continued.
I just think it’s such a privilege, personally and as a family, to continue the legacy of dad.
He gave his life, quite literally, for wildlife conservation and to make the world a better place.
Robert then said that he did miss his father, especially on important birthdays.
I just hope he’d be proud,
he said,
and I hope I can find my own way and continue a legacy that is so profound.
As you might expect, when the sad video was put on YouTube, it got a lot of attention.
One person who saw the video wrote:
Don’t think their mother gets enough credit for how well she has raised these kids especially without their father. Well done.
What a well spoken and dynamic young man,
added a second.
He is truly his parent’s son and will be a force for years to come. Happy Birthday, Robert.
Wow! What a beautifully spoken young man,
observed a third.
Happy birthday Robert! Australia is so proud of you.
A fourth said,
I can’t even imagine being that put together at 19 years old.
