Robert Irwin has suffered an injury to his face during a crocodile research trip in northern Australia.
The Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro host, 22, shared a gruesome selfie that captured his injury via a Sunday, August 2, Instagram Story. “Tree: 1, Robert: 0,” Robert wrote over the photo which showed blood dripping down his nose and soaked through his khaki shirt.
The DWTS season 34 champion, who is currently traveling through the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve in Australia’s Far North Queensland, had previously shared via his Instagram Stories that he is camping in the remote Cape York Peninsula for one month while tackling his annual crocodile research expedition. (The reserve was established in 2007 to honor Robert’s late father, Steve Irwin, and his animal conservation efforts before he died at the age of 44 in 2006.)
As part of his trip, Robert built a crocodile trap, per footage shared via his Instagram Stories, and examined large crocodile footprints as well as spotting multiple crocodiles lurking in the water.
“We’re back on our annual crocodile research trip in remote northern Australia. First things first, it’s time to find signs of where crocs have been,” Robert captioned a Saturday, August 1, Instagram video of himself finding a muddy crocodile footprint. “It doesn’t get better than a footprint like this, what a whopper.”
Robert’s mom, Terri Irwin, took to the video’s comments section to provide context surrounding Robert’s annual adventure. “We are learning so much with our crocodile research. It’s the longest running telemetry study, helping us find out where they travel, nest, and go to escape extreme flooding events. We have discovered they can hold their breath more than eight hours, how their body temperature affects their movements, and that they can travel more than 60km per day,” Terri, 62, wrote. “It’s really exciting to be able to provide so much new data on these gorgeous animals!”
Just a few days prior, Robert shared behind-the-scenes footage of himself on the set of his DWTS spin-off reality series as the host continues to juggle U.S. showbiz pursuits with his animal conservation work in Australia, where he was born.
In January, he opened up to The West Australian about how he splits his time between the southern and northern hemisphere. “Being in L.A. for the last three months has been wonderful, but I am not a city kid,” Robert admitted at the time. “I live out in the bush and have grown up there, so it’s good to be back where there’s a bit of greenery.”
Last month, he shared a video of himself at the Irwin family’s Australia Zoo while holding a baby freshwater crocodile for the camera. “You can hear the vocalizations that he’s making, he’s only a young fella so at this size, he’s making those cute little frog noises,” he told fans in the July 22 clip alongside a caption that read, “How cute are those little squeaks?!”
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