Celebrity4 min(s) read
Published 08:51 13 May 2026 GMT
The truth behind a "death roll" has been revealed after Robert Irwin revealed he was on the wrong end of a crocodile attack.
Irwin, a conservationist and zookeeper like his legendary father Steve, has done everything he can to keep his late parents' legacy going.
The 22-year-old works at the Australia Zoo and, much like his dad, he is known for his brave interactions with animals, which the majority of the human population would steer clear of.
However, the young animal enthusiast would appear on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon this month and admit that a croc almost got the better of him.
Ironically, it was one whom Irwin had affectionately named after the talk show host himself, though it'd be a surprise if the real Jimmy Fallon performed a "death roll" on the TV presenter.
Appearing on the US talk show earlier this month, Irwin said he named the croc when he was a baby, claiming: "He’s not a baby anymore. I named this crocodile Jimmy Fallon, like, years ago, and he’s now what we call a boss croc. He’s huge.
"Because we research crocodiles in the wild to, like, better conserve them, right? So the way you do that — my dad came up with this — is you actually have to jump on them."
But one of these instances went horribly wrong as he had "jumped on the back of Jimmy Fallon" while at work, only for the crocodile “death-roll” him.
Irwin added: "I jumped onto him. I kid you not, 14 foot of crocodile, big croc, death-rolls me. So I’m stuck underneath him with my arm hanging out.
"I’ve got like probably, I don’t know, maybe 700 pounds on top of me. And I’m just like, ‘What do I do?’ And luckily, he rolled back the other way, and I was fine. But he’s a goer."
You may believe that the movement sounds particularly scary, and you'd be right in assuming that.
The "death roll" is a powerful spinning attack used by crocodiles to tear apart or overpower prey underwater.
This typically happens when a crocodile bites something large that it can't swallow whole, with the reptile clamping its jaws together and quickly spinning its body around, almost like a rolling log.
As a result of the movement, the crocodile often benefits by managing to:
After biting and locking its jaws, the croc tucks its legs in for less drag, with its muscular tail helping it spin, with this force aiming to tear the tissue of, or disorient the prey.
Crocodiles have to resort to this method as they lack the chewing teeth which mammals do, meaning they have no choice but to use force and violent rotation to process food.
Alligators also perform death rolls, though scientists have observed that smaller crocodiles do similar even when they are young, meaning it may be an instinctive hunting behavior rather than something learned later.
Robert was lucky to get away with it, but unfortunately, his family history isn't as positive.
Steve Irwin infamously had a fatal encounter with a wild stingray in September 2006, while trying to film a documentary on the Great Barrier Reef.
After spending his whole life attempting to teach the public to respect and protect all animals, he would be pierced in his chest by a stingray barb
Robert was just two years old when his father passed away, but he has gone out of his way to carry on doing conservation work in the family's name, as well as Steve's wife Teri Irwin, and his sister Bindi.
The 22-year-old even took to Instagram in October to claim it was the "honour of my life" that he has been able to make his dad proud.
