I can still remember the deflated feeling in my heart the tragic day that I learned that Steve “The Crocodile Hunter” Irving died after a horrible diving accident. Steve was one of those beautiful human beings and bright personalities that always brought a smile to our faces. His enthusiasm for life and nature was infectious and brought a lot of attention to many worthy animal causes. Protecting wildlife was his life, and that’s what he died doing. It’s hard to think of a better way to live than that. As we all mourned the death of this great adventurer, none were hit harder by his death than his family.
However, his widow Terri Irwin and his two young children Bindi Sue and Robert, have continued to carry on his work, campaigning, and championing conservation efforts all over the world. And as soon as he could, Robert Irwin began to take over some of his father’s public appearance duties by appearing on various talk shows to talk about conservation and to educate the world about specific animals. In this video, we see 13-year-old Robert making his first appearance on the Tonight Show, a platform that his father last visited in 2006 the same year he died.
Image via YouTube
During the beginning of the interview, Jimmy and Robert talked about the teen’s late father, while looking at some old photos of Steve and Robert. After talking about their incredible conservation efforts, Jimmy made mention of some animals Robert brought with him, at which point he rubbed his hands to gather in excitement, stating, “Yes, we do!” However, Fallon warned how he was “a little afraid of animals,” with the teen reassuring him that “we will help you overcome your fear.” And so, with that, the first animal he introduces from its basket was an African dwarf crocodile named “Beetlejuice.” Next, up they bring out Micky, a screaming baby Armadillo, which screamed the cutest little noise when tickled. While Jimmy seemed to enjoy the cute baby armadillo, he definitely wasn’t thrilled about “Lady,” who’s a Red Tail Boa constrictor snake. To say Jimmy wasn’t a happy camper would be a bit of an understatement, folks, as Lady really seemed to take a liking to his hand. However, the last animal made Jimmy very excited, as Robert brought out an eight-pound baby sloth named Valentino. And finally, Robert brings out another sloth named Serenity, which the awkward host had the pleasure of holding as it wrapped around his waist.
Image via YouTube
Watch Robert Irwin making his father proud during his first appearance on the Tonight Show in the video below.
