Robert Irwin Recreates His Dad's Famous Koala Photo

Robert Irwin has recreated a famous image of his dad holding a koala bear, and people are shocked at how much he looks like his dad.

The 16-year-old looks the spit of his Crocodile Hunter dad Steve Irwin in the image he shared on Instagram. The photo shows Robert holding an adorable koala bear, leaning his head against the animal's fur, dressed in his work uniform for Australia Zoo.

The zoo shared the original image of Steve back in January, when they were discussing their efforts with saving injured koalas in the wake of the bushfire crisis.

Robert gave an impassioned interview where he discussed the impact of the bushfires on wildlife in the country.

Speaking on Sunrise alongside his mum Terri, the emotional teenager said: "It's definitely an ongoing issue and we're just trying to do our best to help in any way we can.

"But it's a pretty tough situation. We're absolutely heartbroken."

Terri explained why the fires had such a devastating impact on the country's koala population.

She said: "The consideration with koalas is that their instinct is to go up, safety is in the top of the tree, and with a hot fire, eucalyptus trees have so much oil in their leaves they actually ignite and explode. So being able to treat koalas is few and far between because they're basically incinerated, which is absolutely heartbreaking.

"But now is the time we need to look at more than just setting aside habitat. Koalas are classed as vulnerable and I think that after this event we need to really sit down and look at classing them as endangered and protecting our icons, our kangaroos, our koalas."

Robert said the fires had harmed animals in a variety of different ways.

He said: "We're seeing all kinds of different injuries.

"Obviously smoke inhalation and burns are happening frequently, but also animals are going into areas where they're not supposed to be to escape the horrific conditions."

The family's hospital has managed to help over 90,000 animals since it opened in 2004. Last year it opened its dedicated sea turtle rehabilitation centre, sea snake ward and new bird recovery area.

Featured Image Credit: Australia Zoo/Robert Irwin

Topics: Animals, Steve Irwin, Australia

Amelia Ward

Amelia is a journalist at LADbible. After studying journalism at Liverpool John Moores and Salford Uni (don't ask), she went into PR and then the world of music. After a few years working on festivals and events, she went back to her roots. In her spare time, Amelia likes music, Liverpool FC, and spending good, quality time with her cat, Paul. You can contact Amelia at [email protected].

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