Robert Irwin has been marking the birthday of his late father Steve Irwin.
Steve, who became famous for his work as a conservationist and documentarian, tragically died in September 2006 after being fatally pierced by a stingray.
The Australian zookeeper would have been celebrating his 62nd birthday today (February 22).
In his honour, Steve’s youngest child has been sharing some childhood memories of his father.
Steve’s daughter Bindi was just eight years old when he passed away, while his only son Robert had just turned two.
On social media, Robert has taken the opportunity to share a powerful story of a piece of his father’s legacy that he is keeping alive.
In a video posted to Instagram, the 20-year-old included clips and snaps of Steve riding an old motorcycle around Australia Zoo, which the Irwin family founded and continue to run.
“Dad had a long history with motorbikes and when he got this Honda 100, it was his main mode of transportation around Australia Zoo,” Robert explained in a voiceover.
“Me and my sister, every morning we’d get on, hold onto the handlebars. Dad would take us around on the morning park checks and we’d get ice cream. Some of my fondest and earliest memories were on that bike,” he recalled.
“After Dad passed away, the bike sat sitting for quite some time, but I got it back up and running recently, and now it’s my job to get the motorbike started every morning and do the same park checks around Australia Zoo," he revealed.
“Every time I start that thing, it brings back so many memories and I absolutely love it,” Robert gushed.
“It was well known back in Dad’s day that you could always hear him before you could see him, thanks to that motorbike,” he concluded, adding that “not much has changed” now that it is in use again.
Many fans have since been reacting to Robert’s emotional post, with one Instagram user writing: “I’m not crying you are…”.
“He's a tough act to follow, Robert, but you're killing it!!” another praised.
