Steve Irwin Discovered This Turtle… 32 Years Later His Son Shares Emotional Update.

During his life, Steve Irwin was able to accomplish so much on his quest to help animals. This includes his discovery of a rare species of freshwater turtle which he found in 1990 on the Burdekin River in Queensland. Something that makes this creature unique is that it can breathe underwater, a skill most freshwater turtles don’t possess. Soon after this discovery, the reptile was fittingly named Elseya irwini, or as many say, Irwin’s turtle.

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Since their discovery, these rare creatures have continued their fight for survival. According to the Wildlife Warriors website, it’s believed that the turtles first started to disappear with the construction of the Burdekin Falls Dam in 1987 — this caused ecological changes that harmed the creatures. Luckily, the Australian Zoo is working to breed and release these turtles in the future, and a monumental first step to that happening just took place! Fittingly, Steve Irwin’s son, Robert Irwin, shared the news.

“This is the very first Elsaya irwini turtle ever hatched for any zoological facility anywhere in the world,” he shared while holding a tiny baby turtle in his hands.

He went on to share with us the turtle’s first moments in the water, something that made Irwin emotional, especially when thinking about his late Dad.

“Wow,” he wrote on TikTok. “This was a special moment. I think Dad would be pretty proud that we’ve become the first to successfully breed the turtle that he discovered. A rare, and unique species under threat in the wild has just been given a second chance.”

Watch this beautiful moment in the video below.

You can find the source of this story’s featured image here and here!