“Bail, bail, bail!”: Robert Irwin’s narrow croc escape
Robert Irwin was left running for his life from a 350-kilogram crocodile in a heart-stopping clip.
After one of Australia Zoo’s crocs ignored the bait offered to him - instead making a beeline for Robert - the 18-year-old was forced to “bail” the exercise.
In the clip from Crickey! It’s the Irwins, Robert detailed one of the zoo’s “biggest and challenging moves,” switching one of their “wildest crocodiles Casper” to the “Crocoseum” enclosure.
“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,” Robert said.
“If he’s coming out of the water giving big strikes, that means he’s going to be ready for the Crocoseum show.”
Robert explained that one brave zookeeper would have to jump into Casper’s brand-new environment.
He shared that the croc has displayed “wild behaviour since [his late father Steve Irwin] first got Casper,” admitting that the task ahead of him was “quite terrifying”.
Robert bravely stepped into the enclosure, approaching the water with bait ready.
Suddenly, the croc leaped out of the water, snapping its jaw towards the food Robert was using as bait.
“Yeah, he’s keen, jeez he’s keen,” Robert said reacting to the croc’s speed and intensity.
Things went downhill very quickly as the croc was clearly uninterested in the bait Robert was offering.
“Bail, bail, bail, bail, bail, bail,” Robert repeated as he ran across the exhibit in a heart-stopping moment.
The clip shows Robert running from a birds-eye view, clearly showing his narrow escape.
The full video was shared on social media by Robert, and is taken from the season finale of the TV show Crickey! It’s the Irwins.
Images: Animal Planet