Robert Irwin has followed in his father’s footsteps as a conservationist and wildlife advocate, and now he’s celebrating the birth of the first Irwin’s turtle to be hatched in captivity.
Robert Irwin / InstagramRobert Irwin , the 19 - year - old boy of “ Crocodile Hunter ” Steve Irwin , hatched a rare species of turtleneck that Steve discovered in 1990 .
The son of tardy Australian conservationist and television personalitySteve Irwinhas helped successfully hatch the first Irwin ’s turtle to be accept in enslavement .
19 - twelvemonth - old Robert Irwin shared a video of himself contain a baby Irwin ’s turtle ( Elseya irwini ) at Australia Zoo in Queensland :

Robert Irwin/InstagramRobert Irwin, the 19-year-old son of “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin, hatched a rare species of turtle that Steve discovered in 1990.
A post share by Robert Irwin ( @robertirwinphotography )
His founder discovered the rare turtle in 1990 , and it was identify in his laurels .
“ This is one of the highlights of my integral living , one of the most particular moment ever for Australia Zoo , ” Robert said in the video . “ This is the very firstElseya irwini , Irwin ’s turtle , ever hatch for any zoological readiness anywhere in the world . ”

Robert Irwin/InstagramRobert Irwin (bottom) has been carrying on his late father’s legacy by working for the Australia Zoo and sharing educational content on social media.
The Irwin ’s turtle is under threat due to the construction of the Burdekin Dam , which has caused damage to their specialized habitat . But Robert is hoping to give these creature a chance of survival .
“ For the first time , we ’ve got a little baby , and he ’s gon na get his first swim in a marque new pond , ” Robert say in the video before releasing the tiny reptile into its new enclosure .
Elseya irwiniis sleep with for its rarefied power to breathe underwater through its cloaca , leading to the cognomen “ bum - breather . ” The species was unknown until 1990 , whenSteve Irwindiscovered it while on a crocodile - catching trip on Queensland ’s Burdekin River with his own father , naturalist Bob Irwin .

Australia ZooThe Irwin family before Steve’s tragic death in 2006.
Steve Irwin tragically diedin 2006 at the eld of 44 . The host of the popular telecasting showThe Crocodile Hunter , Steve was mourned by devotee around the world , with over 300 million people ascertain the resilient programme of his funeral .
Robert was just three days old when his father died , but that does n’t stop him from following in his footsteps .
“ I think Dad would be pretty proud that we ’ve become the first to successfully engender the turtle that he discovered , ” Robert spell in the legend of his video . “ A rare , and singular species under threat in the wild has just been given a second chance . ”
Robert Irwin / InstagramRobert Irwin ( bottom ) has been carry on his late Padre ’s bequest by work for the Australia Zoo and apportion educational mental object on societal media .
In 2006 , Steve Irwin and his longtime cameraman Justin Lyons were shooting a documentary calledOcean ’s Deadliestat the Great Barrier Reef . They were on the water in an inflatable boat when they spotted a huge stingray swim by .
Irwin and Lyons decided to get in the water to attempt to get footage of the animate being . Irwin want to position himself behind the stingray to get a shot of it swimming aside , but then the Pisces the Fishes suddenly whip its tail up and pierce Irwin over 100 multiplication , “ [ going ] through his chest like a hot tongue through butter , ” Lyons said , accord to theMirror .
“ I had the camera and thought this was conk to be a capital shot , ” Lyons recalled . “ But all [ of ] a sudden the stingray prop up on its front and startle stabbing Steve with its tail . There were hundreds of strikes within just a few seconds . ”
The pair manage to make it back to the chief gravy boat , but it was too late . The hurt to Irwin ’s heart and lungs was too extensive .
“ He just sort of sedately looked up at me and say , ‘ I ’m die , ' ” Second Council of Lyons said . “ And that was the last thing he said . We hoped for a miracle . I did CPR on him for over an hour before the medic came , but then they pronounced him numb within 10 seconds of face at him . ”
Australia ZooThe Irwin family before Steve ’s tragic death in 2006 .
Steve Irwin is survived by his wife and cohost ofThe Crocodile HunterTerri Irwin and his two children , Bindi and Robert . Both Bindi and Robert continue to divvy up educational content about wildlife and the environment on societal medium .
As Robert said in his telecasting about the freshly - dream up Irwin ’s turtle , “ Dad would be stoke . ”
After reading about the rarefied turtle bred by Steve Irwin ’s son , learn aboutthe death of the last Yangtze gargantuan softshell turtle . Or , read aboutthe Australian quokkas that smile and pose for selfies .