Terrifying footage emerged this month of Robert Irwin, 18, very nearly devoured by a saltwater crocodile named Casper.
The teenager was forced to flee for his life when the huge beast lunged at him at Australia Zoo during feeding time.
And his mother Terri Irwin reportedly reacted with horror after her husband Steve died in 2006 at the age of 44 when he was pierced in the chest by a short-tail stingray.
The wife of the late ‘Crocodile Hunter ‘almost had a heart attack when she saw just how close Robert came to a tragic end,’ a source said.
According to the source, the 57-year-old Irwin family matriarch is ‘reliving that trauma’ from Steve’s tragic death.
Watching her teenage son work as a dangerous animal handler like his dad has made Terri uneasy, and she wishes to father and son ‘weren’t quite so alike sometimes.’
Close call: Robert, 18, was almost EATEN by a crocodile at Australia Zoo recently after it ignored its lunch and lunged at him
In the heart-stopping footage, Robert is seen telling fellow zookeepers to ‘bail’ when the rare ‘leucistic’ saltie named Casper charges at the teenager.
Robert was testing whether Casper was comfortable enough with his new enclosure to be featured in shows at the famous zoo in Queensland.
However, the 3.7 meter, 350kg beast ignored the food offered by Robert and made a beeline for the teen with snapping jaws.
He was forced to run, shouting ‘bail, bail, bail!’ as he fled the approaching reptile.
A bird’s-eye view of the drama showed him narrowly escaping the croc’s jaws.
The clip was from the season finale of U.S. TV show Crikey! It’s the Irwins, and was posted by Robert on social media.
Casper is a leucistic saltwater crocodile, which means he suffers from a dramatic reduction in dark skin pigment and appears lighter in colour to other crocs.
According to Australia Zoo, his condition means ‘he would’ve been predated on at a young age in the wild.’
They also describe Casper as ‘one of the most aggressive crocodiles we have ever seen’.
However, at the zoo, he has been paired up with a female saltwater crocodile with the same condition named Wendy.
Rare beast: Casper (pictured) is a leucistic Saltwater Crocodile, which means he suffers from a dramatic reduction in dark skin pigment and appears lighter in colour to other crocs