'I thought this was Steve': Rob Irwin stuns with eerie lookalike snap

We all know that Rob Irwin is following in late dad Steve’s footsteps with his commitment to wildlife conservation, but a new photo of the 16-year-old has fans doing a real double-take.

Uploaded this morning, the photo show’s Robert holding a koala, and snuggling his face into the animal’s fur.

Fans were quick to point out a striking resemblance to the croc hunter, Rob’s dad Steve Irwin.

A quick look at a photo of the late Aussie confirms that his son is his spitting image.

“I legit thought this was Steve,” one person wrote.

“Did anyone else think this was Steve at first?” another wondered.

Seemed like plenty did, the photo was soon spammed with comments comparing the teenage photography enthusiast to the wildlife warrior.

“He looks so much like his father,” one wrote.

“You look so much like your dad in this photo! Bless you both,” was one woman’s kind message.

An ongoing comparison

It’s not the first time the Aussie has made a stir with his remarkable likeness to his late dad.

Last year a side by side shot with another Aussie creature, a crocodile called Murray, sparked a nationwide jaw-drop over the pair’s similarity.

Rob has blown up all over the world of late, as the youngest and only son of Terri and Steve comes into his own as a wildlife photographer.

Though only 16, Robert, who was homeschooled at his family’s home base at Australia Zoo in Queensland, is already internationally known, thanks to his appearances on the hugely successful Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and his role on the family’s reality series, Crikey! It’s the Irwins.

A budding photographer, he regularly shares photos of wildlife – in particular, birds – with his 1.6 million Instagram followers. Along with his sister Bindi Irwin, the pair have in excess of 4.6 million followers.

Robert was only two years old when his father tragically passed away, killed when a stingray barb pierced his heart while filming episodes of his television series.