Robert Irwin has spoken about a terrifying run-in with a crocodile, fittingly nicknamed after TV presenter Jimmy Fallon.
The 22-year-old, who is the son of late wildlife icon Steve Irwin, has spent much of his life working up close with reptiles and taking on high-risk fieldwork.
Outside of conservation, Irwin has also proved he can handle the spotlight, winning season 35 of Dancing With The Stars in November 2025.
And while DWTS rehearsals demand stamina and precision, they may pale in comparison to one moment Irwin says nearly ended in disaster, after he was “death rolled” by a crocodile.
Looking back on the incident during an appearance with Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show, Irwin explained: “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, right?”
But as Irwin told it, this particular crocodile—named Jimmy Fallon—didn’t cooperate.
“So I jumped on the back of Jimmy Fallon [the crocodile] and get this. The little he death-rolled me,” Irwin recalled. “I jumped onto him. I kid you not. 14 feet of crocodile, big croc, death rolls me,” he said.
He went on to explain that he ended up pinned beneath the crocodile, with his arm still exposed.
“And I’m just like, ‘What do I do?’” he questioned.
Fortunately, Irwin managed to get out when the crocodile rolled again, creating just enough of an opening for him to escape.
For anyone unfamiliar with the term “death roll,” it’s as brutal as it sounds.
A death roll is a hunting and feeding technique where a crocodile clamps down on its prey and then forcefully spins its body to overpower it and tear it apart.
Irwin, however, doesn’t appear to have been put off by the ordeal.
More recently, the 22-year-old took on what was framed as a challenge involving 100 crocodiles—though not quite in the way people might imagine.
After his Dancing With The Stars win, Irwin told PEOPLE he’d be “back in Australia for a few weeks in the middle of nowhere,” before heading out again to continue crocodile research work in remote Northern Australia.
At the same time, his latest project has been a partnership with Columbia Sportswear, with an ad shoot that placed him alongside huge numbers of inflatable crocodiles.
“I’ve spent my entire life around crocs, but I’ve never faced a challenge quite like this. I never thought I’d be outrunning dozens of crocodiles in the middle of the Aussie outback,” he told Business Wire.
At least this time, the “crocs” were the safer kind.