Robert Irwin posed with a wax statue of his late father, Steve Irwin, at Madame Tussauds in Sydney on Thursday.
The waxwork shows the famed Crocodile Hunter dressed in khaki and crouching with his arms wide – a familiar pose for his millions of fans.
Steve died on September 4, 2006, at the age of 44, after being pierced in the chest by a stingray while filming a documentary on the Great Barrier Reef.
And even though the statue bears little actual resemblance to his beloved dad, Robert appeared to be impressed.
Robert later shared with Sunrise that even though Steve’s statue has been on display since 2015, he had never seen it close up before this week.
‘I’d seen pictures of it, but I’d never seen it in real life, and I was actually, I was overcome with emotion, and I didn’t think that was going to happen,’ he told hosts Natalie Barr and Matt ‘Shirvo’ Shirvington.
Robert Irwin posed with a wax statue of his late father, Steve Irwin, at Madame Tussauds in Sydney on Thursday. The waxwork shows the famed Crocodile Hunter dressed in khaki and crouching with his arms wide—a familiar pose for his millions of fans. (Pictured)
Even though the statue [left] bears little actual resemblance to his beloved dad, Robert appeared to be impressed. Right: The real Steve Irwin in 2004
Robert was seen studying the statue of his father closely, and appeared touched by the creation, even though it does much resemble the real-life Wildlife Warrior.
Meanwhile, Robert was at the famed wax museum to celebrate the unveiling of his own statue.
Robert’s figure is posed in a tropical bush setting, holding a large camera with an enormous reptile crawling on it.
The statue was also garbed in Robert’s trademark khaki, the same outfit Robert wore for the launch.
Filmed on Sunrise while posing beside his likeness, Robert could hardly contain his enthusiasm: ‘I can you believe it,’ he told hosts Natalie Bar and Matt Shirvington as he pointed to the stature, which appears to be a few centimetres shorter than the conservationist.
Robert continued to gush over the handiwork of the statue’s creators: ‘How amazing is this? This is absolutely incredible. I mean, wow.’
He also joked: ‘He’s a good-looking young rooster, don’t you think.’
Robert then continued: ‘This is one of the most surreal moments of my entire life. This is just incredible. The team at Madame Tussauds have just completely thrown it out of the ballpark. This is uncanny.
Robert was at the famed wax museum to celebrate the unveiling of his own statue (Pictured)
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‘I honestly don’t know what to think. Like, I just keep looking at every little bit going ”It’s me, it is me”.’
According to the Sunrise report, wax artists took six months to create Robert’s likeness, using 100 measurements and 300 photographs to accurately capture the TV host.
It comes after Robert and Bindi Irwin paid a moving tribute to their late father on November 15.
The date marks Steve Irwin Day in , an annual event honouring the life and legacy of the conservationist known around the world as the ‘Crocodile Hunter’.
The I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here star shared a charming throwback photo of himself posing with his dad.
In the snap a youthful Steve can be seen doting over his young son who is clutching at a toy while sitting in a ‘tinny’ boat which parked on the banks of a river.
‘November 15 is Steve Irwin Day and it’s so wonderful that Dad’s life and legacy is remembered and celebrated on this day,’ Robert said in the caption
For her special tribute, Bindi, 26, posted her own throwback picture in which she is featured as a toddler.
Robert described the wax likeness as ‘uncanny’
In the heartwarming snap Steve can be seen crouching beside her and holding a small snake by the tail up to her smiling face.
‘It’s Steve Irwin Day, and we’re celebrating the life and legacy of the original Wildlife Warrior,’ Bindi said in the caption.
‘How incredible that one man changed the world, igniting a passion for wildlife conservation across the globe!’
Following his death, Steve’s family, including daughter Bindi, widow Terri, 60, son Robert, and son-in-law Chandler Powell, 28, have continued his conservation work at Zoo.
It was Steve’s father, Bob, 83, who built the iconic Queensland zoo from the ground up in 1970 and passed it on to his late son and his wife Terri in 1992.
In his lifetime Steve promoted wildlife conservation with his own hit TV show, the Crocodile Hunter.
And his family have carried on his legacy with their own blockbuster wildlife reality series Crikey! It’s the Irwins, which debuted in 2018 and can still be seen on the Animal Planet network.