Robert Irwin praised after sharing snake wrangling video: 'Mini Steve'
Robert Irwin has been applauded online after he shared a video of himself wrangling a snake on the road in the middle of the night, with many fans pointing out the similarities to his late father Steve.
In the clip, the 18-year-old Wildlife Warrior stepped out of his car barefoot in a t-shirt and shorts as he approached the impressive reptile.
“Have a look at this big fella,” he remarked. “Look at you mate! How’s it going?”
Robert then set up his phone on the ground and filmed himself picking up the snake with his bare hands.
“Decent sized snake!” he exclaimed as it curled around his arm.
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“He’s in a very, very bad position. He’s on a road, he’s at Australia Zoo - this is in the zoo. He’s got crocs on that side, he’s got an aviary full of birds. He’s either gonna get eaten, or he’s gonna eat one of our animals.
“What I’m gonna do is pop him in a little bag, and then I’ll drive him all the way out into some nice natural bushland where he’s come from to give him a better chance at life,” he continued, before adding with a laugh, “And also, to make sure that he doesn’t eat any of the zoo residents, because we don’t really want that”.
Robert then brought the snake closer to the camera and shared further details about how they attack, explaining that they wrap around and asphyxiate their prey before eating them.
“Don’t you bite me on the face,” he told the snake. “He’s thinking about it!”
The next day, Robert went for a walk with his mother Terri and dropped off the snake by a lake in the bushland so it had plenty of space.
“You’re home!” he said. “I think he’s slightly bummed out that he can’t eat any of our birds, but other than that, I reckon he’s pretty happy.”
‘Mini Steve Irwin’
Shortly after Robert shared the video on Instagram, which was captioned ‘Snake rescue!’, a number of fans took to the comments to applaud his efforts.
“My goodness, you are brave to do that and we need more of you!” one person wrote.
“Amazing the kindness and compassion you and your family show to animals,” another added, while a third shared, “That was so cool to watch!”
“Holds snake while talking about how it could kill him, with a big smile on his face. Then frees snake while slaying in his mum’s sunnies. Only Robert Irwin could do this,” someone else replied.
Plenty of followers also compared Robert to his late father, legendary conservationist and wildlife expert Steve Irwin.
“You are just as magnetic, enthusiastic and kind as your father,” one fan remarked, followed by someone else who said, “You are your dad through and through”.
“Lil mini Steve Irwin,” a different user commented, with another writing, “You sound just like your dad”.
“Your dad is looking down on you every day with so much pride,” one follower shared.
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