The Australian conservationist Robert Irwin recently shared how a crocodile named Jimmy Fallon performed a death roll on him at his conservation site. Although he survived the encounter, Irwin explained that he was uncertain about how to escape the situation at that moment.

Robert Irwin discusses being death-rolled by a crocodile named Jimmy Fallon

During his recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Robert Irwin detailed his experience of being death-rolled by a crocodile at his family-operated Australia Zoo. Fallon initiated the conversation by inquiring about the animals and recalling that Irwin had named a baby crocodile after him.

The former Dancing with the Stars contestant remarked, “You know what, Jimmy? He’s not a baby anymore.” He added, “I named this crocodile Jimmy Fallon years ago, and he’s now what we call a boss croc. He’s huge.” The host humorously tucked in his tummy and commented, “He’s not too big; he’s normal size. I mean, as you get older, you start to put some pounds on.”

“I’ll tell you what I did,” the 22-year-old explained. He described how his management conducts research on wild crocodiles to enhance conservation efforts. “The way you do that — my dad came up with this — is you actually have to jump on them,” Irwin continued. “So, I jumped on the back of Jimmy Fallon. The little… He death-rolled me. I jumped on him — I kid you not — a 14-foot crocodile, big croc, death-rolls me.”

Irwin further explained how he felt trapped under the 700-pound reptile with his “arm hanging out.” He admitted to feeling clueless about how to escape the predicament. “Luckily, he rolled back the other way, and I was fine,” he said. “He’s a goer, Jimmy. He’s a goer.”

Currently, the Irwin family owns and manages Australia Zoo in Beerwah, Queensland, Australia. While the park is open to the public and hosts hundreds of different animal species, it also serves as a wildlife conservation site.