Robert Irwin held back tears as he praised his mother Terri in a new solo interview on ABC's One Plus One program.
On Thursday (September 29), the 18-year-old conservationist appeared emotional in an interview when he spoke about his 58-year-old mother's strength after the death of his father, Steve Irwin.
The teenager described his mother Terri as a "wonder woman" and the "force of nature" and applauded her for not selling the Australia Zoo.
He admitted that moving away from his late father's legacy wouldn't have been the "wrong thing to do," but instead, Terri was determined to carry on with The Crocodile Hunter's lifetime work.
Watch the interview (at the 8:28 mark) below:"She could have sold the zoo and just raised us. And we could have just squirreled away and lived a little hidden life," Robert emotionally said.
"She could see the legacy that he started and she said 'you know what, I'm making sure this is going to continue and grow and get bigger and better every single year," he continued.
"Everyone saw dad as this larger-than-life character. Which he was in real life. 120 percent every single day. But mum is the one who kept it going, it's pretty special," Robert added.
With tears in his eyes, the teen also reflected on his admiration for his mother, saying he never fully understood the roles she was forced to play in raising him and his older sister Bindi after his father died.
"She raised us. She kept the zoo going through some tough times. I get emotional just thinking about it. She's an absolute wonder woman.
"I don't think I really fully understood, fully grasped what a powerful human being and brave human being she is, and was until I really started to kind of step into adulthood," he said, explaining, "I realize now and only now what she has been through."
"I mean raising children, for mum to do that, without a dad, to lose this sounding board and the person who you count on. I mean, the rug is just taken out from under you," he added.
The conservationist also spoke about how his mother set some ground rules for the zoo. He jokingly said the biggest one was that "you can't feed crocs till you are 10 years old".
He said that from the moment he could talk as a baby, he was constantly asking his parents about when he'd be able to feed crocodiles.
Steve Irwin died at the age of 44 on September 4, 2006, after being pierced in the chest by a stingray. His death was a nationwide shock to the world.
