Robert Irwin, the son of Australian TV presenter Steve Irwin, was forced to flee from a crocodile enclosure after a huge reptile called Casper lunged at him.
Steve Irwin, famously known as the “The Crocodile Hunter”, died in 2006 in a stingray accident while filming a documentary in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
In an episode of Crikey! It’s the Irwins that airs on Animal Planet, 18-year-old Robert Irwin attempted to feed a nearly four-metre-long (13 feet) 350kg saltwater crocodile at the Australia Zoo.
However, instead of grabbing the food, the reptile jumped at Mr Irwin and chased him while the TV star screamed “bail! bail! bail!”.
In the show, Mr Irwin said it was his first encounter feeding Casper in his new enclosure.
“A few weeks ago we had one of the biggest and the most challenging crocodile moves that we had at Australia Zoo. Before Casper makes his debut in the Crocoseum we need to do a bit of a test, just to make sure that he’s settling in nicely to this new enclosure,” the 18-year-old said.
“If he’s coming out of the water giving big strikes, that means he’s going to be ready for the Crocoseum show,” he added.
The crocodile had been displaying “wild behaviour” since his father first got him, Mr Irwin said, adding that the task was “quite terrifying”.
He then tried to lure Casper out of the water with a big chunk of meat. Soon, the reptile could be seen jumping out of the water and snapping its jaws towards the piece of meat.
“He’s keen, jeez he’s keen,” Mr Irwin can be heard saying as he takes a step back in reaction to the crocodile’s speed. The reptile then gave chase, leading Mr Irwin to run across the enclosure screaming “bail” repeatedly.
Taking to Instagram, Mr Irwin said it was “one of the most intense croc feeds” he had ever done.
“We prioritise natural behaviour with our crocs. By getting in their enclosures with them, and letting them put on those huge strikes from the water’s edge, they get to use all of their predatory instincts and they just love it,” he wrote.
“But safety for us is also crucial and you definitely have to know when to call it. And with such a powerful and quick croc like Casper we had no choice but to bail.”
Casper was rescued by Steve Irwin in 2002.
