Robert Irwin is opening up about his scary encounter with a giant crocodile.
​The 22-year-old son of the wildlife expert, Steve Irwin, also known as the “Crocodile Hunter,” made a recent appearance on The Jimmy Fallon Show on Monday and revealed that once a 317–kilogram crocodile rolled over him.
​As the Irwin family looked after wild animals, Robert shared, “We research crocodiles in the wild to better conserve them, right? The way you do that – my dad came up with this – is you actually have to jump on them, right?”
​He shared that he also followed his late father’s instruction and jumped on the creature’s back, but the animal suddenly decided to flip back, making the crocodile’s belly up.
​”I jumped onto him,” Robert explained, “I kid you not – 14 feet (4.2 metres) of crocodile, big croc.
​”So I’m stuck underneath him with my arm hanging out. I’ve got like, probably, I don’t know, maybe 700 pounds [317kg] on top of me, and I’m just like, ‘What do I do?'”
​Luckily, the Dancing with the Stars pro did not get any injury and the crocodile rolled back his previous position.
​Elsewhere during the conversation, Robert revealed that he first named the crocodile ‘Jimmy Fallon’ when he was born, which amused the late-night TV host.
​”I was fine, but he’s a goer, Jimmy,” Robert told Fallon jokingly, referring to the croc, adding, “He’s a goer.”
​Robert’s father, known for his adventures in the wild, passed away back in 2006 at age 44 after being stung by a stingray while filming an underwater documentary.
