Late Australian icon Steve Irwin continues to inspire his family’s passion for wildlife, son Robert has shared.

Among hosting a TV show, writing, and working at Australia Zoo, 17-year-old Robert Irwin has found time to win a Wildlife Photographer of the Year award for an aerial snap of a bushfire.

Robert Irwin’s winning entry – an aerial drone shot of the bushfires in Cape York.

He told Ben Fordham all the hard work is part of keeping his father’s legacy alive.

“He was just an absolute force of nature.

“It would be not to have a passion for animals growing up with my dad.

“One of our earliest memories … he got us up one morning and said ‘Bindi, Robert, Terri, come out to the backyard, I’ve got something to show you guys!’

“We get out into the backyard and there under our clothesline is a big Sumatran tiger … every day you just never knew what he was going to do.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview

Image: Marc Grimwade/WireImage/Getty Images