Robert Irwin gets emotional after receiving 19th birthday message from late dad Steve

Robert Irwin turned 19 on December 1 and his father Steve Irwin had a special message for him. A video showed Robert Irwin accompanied by his mother watching an old video of his Dad speaking of the joy he felt on learning Robert was born. In the video, Steve starts talking about the time when Robert was born. He said, "I'm at the hospital, and Terri's pushing and pushing.. it's hard as is. And bang pop him out and I've lifted him out and you know he's a little bloke and put him on Terri's chest and we're just stoked. And at that moment, at that very moment, I saw the light."

He added, "The whole time you're here, you're like you know, I'm catching crocs, I'm serving wildlife I'm doing this, I'm doing that, when Bindi was born I had the same sensation, now with little Bob same sensation, it's like this is why I was put here." Steve goes on to say that he might be dead tomorrow "so I need these blokes to come up as quick as they can. So this little bloke going to have to catch the crocs with Bindi. When they are ready to run our mission I will gladly step aside." He says that only then he will attain his "ultimate goal." Steve concludes, "And my job will be done and I guarantee you it'll be the proudest moment of my life." 

In the footage first Steve is seen with his son, playing with him and carrying him around. After that, there are shots of Robert with different wildlife, holding the mouth of a crocodile, putting a turtle back into the ocean, feeding raccoons, and holding a snake in his hand. Robert was just three years old when his father died after being injured by a stingray in 2006. After watching the message from his father, Robert had tears in his eyes, he said, "It's impossible to not get emotional. It is just such a privilege personally and as a family, to continue the legacy of dad. Something that started so many years ago that's what this is all about. You walk around the zoo and you still see his face everywhere. The reason why he gave his life quite literally for wildlife conversation and to make the world a better place."

According to Robert, Steve was all about family. He said, "He was at the end of the day, always there for us, every second of every other day. He was a great dad." Robert really wished that his dad could be there for his birthdays which are "milestones." He said, "I hope he will be proud, I can find my own way to continue the legacy which is so profound and it still affects every one of us why we are here."

The YouTube video has more than 3.4 million views. It is captioned, "Robert Irwin gets emotional after watching his dad's message to him on his 19th birthday." Many on the platform commented about how amazingly Robert is carrying forward the legacy and how well Terri has brought up her kids.  A user wrote, "Don't think their mother gets enough credit for how well she has raised these kids especially with out their father. Well done." Another said, "He has so much of his Dad's heart. His love of life is so apparent. He is truly a living legacy. Props to Terri for raising two incredible children."