

Info Related to this News Events:

Robert's 13th Birthday



Today marked an incredibly special day on the Australia Zoo calendar with Robert Irwin celebrating the beginning of his teenage years, turning 13!

To mark the super special birthday occasion, gates opened early at 8am and all kids aged 14 and under received free entry to the Zoo to enjoy a day packed with fun. Robert's love of dinosaurs meant Bruce, Australia Zoo's resident roving velociraptor cruised around meeting guests and Australia Zoo's own artist Cameron unveiled another masterpiece to mark the occasion - a Pterosaur, positioned in the Zoo's Wetlands area.

As part of the celebrations, Robert was of course joined by his mum Terri and sister Bindi as he fed our amazing saltwater crocodiles in the Crocoseum for the daily Wildlife Warriors show. Being the first of the month, Santa Clause also made an appearance, trying his hand at feeding Australia's apex predators.

Following Robert's success as the runner-up for Australian Geographic's Young Photographer of the Year competition earlier this year, his love for photography was on display showcasing 90 of his favourite wildlife images in a pop-up gallery in the ‘Australiana Boutique'.



Robert was so excited to celebrate his first day as a teenager surrounded by the things he loves most.

"Today was just amazing! I had so much fun, Monty was on fire with the warmer weather and it was so fun seeing Santa get in there and give croc feeding a go!" Said Robert.

"I was especially proud showcasing my favourite images in the gallery today. I love photography and have been lucky enough to take pictures of wildlife around the world, so to share that with everyone is really special," he said.

I'm also keen to begin sharing some of my wildlife photos and the stories attached to them on social media so I've also started an Instagram account @RobertIrwinPhotography," he added.

Today, Australia Zoo also played host to 120 Aussie heroes uncovered by Nova's Fitzy and Wippa in partnership with Qantas. The special guests were carefully selected from hundreds of nominations of individuals and families in need of some Christmas cheer this holiday season - from families doing it tough to community legends, all were welcome to share in on Robert's 13th birthday celebrations.

Guests were treated to a range of prehistoric themed activities throughout the day including ‘Dino Lab fossil presentations' with palaeontologist Dr Scott from the Queensland Museum, science experiment workshops, a huge Jurassic slide for kids and of course free birthday cake!