The Irwins might be about to welcome a new member to the family, but nearly 15 years on from his dad’s death, Robert Irwin says he still misses him “every minute of every day”.

The Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, was just 44 years old when he was pierced in the chest by a stingray and killed in September 2006. Since his passing, his now 17-year-old son Robert has continued his late father’s legacy of wildlife conservation.

In an interview with Studio10 on Wednesday, Robert said it was the milestone moments such as birthdays that really reminded him of his father’s absence, however the focus was on continuing the legacy that Steve had created at Australia Zoo.

Steve would have celebrated his 59th birthday on February 22 this year. His family marked the occasion with a family video message on social media.

“I miss him every minute of every day, especially on those milestone moments in my life and what would have been his birthday,” Robert said. “It really, really hits home, but I think that, for us, we just want to make sure everything that he lived and died for continues.”

With most tourism operators being affected drastically by the lack of tourists during Covid-19, Robert praised his mum, Terri, for keeping the zoo running through the “crazy” time.

“We have the most amazing mum, through this amazing, horrible, crazy Covid time that we’ve gone through. She’s kept this zoo running and as a family I think we’ve never been stronger,” he said. “I feel like when you walk through the zoo you can really feel Dad’s presence and I’m sure he’s up there somewhere looking down. Crikey, I think he’d be pretty proud.”

While 2020 was a difficult year, it also brought a wedding and baby news for his 22-year-old sister Bindi, who married her husband Chandler Powell in a ceremony at Australia Zoo on March 25, just before the Covid-19 lockdown. The couple announced their baby news in August and are due to welcome their baby daughter any day now.

Robert says Bindi’s pregnancy has been a bit of a learning curve, referring to a recent slip up on Channel Seven’s Sunrise morning program when he referred to her as “massive”.

“Bindi’s amazing. I’ve learnt not to say ‘massive.’ I said that and it didn’t go very well!” he said. “She’s very round and very ample in her pregnancy – in the most beautiful and glowing way – she looks amazing! She’s doing great, she’s gorgeous.”

Earlier in the year, Bindi opened up to Entertainment Tonight about how she thought Steve would be feeling about becoming a grandad if he were here with her today. “He would’ve been a good, good grandpa. Yeah, he really would’ve been,” she said. “I don’t think we would’ve ever seen our daughter. He would’ve just whisked her away into the zoo and it would’ve been perfect.”

Bindi’s mum Terri, who was present at the interview, said that Steve would have been “over the moon”.