Robert Irwin Says ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Is Scarier Than Wrangling Crocodiles (Exclusive)

Robert Irwin has the jitters about his upcoming performances on Dancing with the Stars, which begins on Sept. 16 on ABC.

“Look, if you think you’re bad at dancing, multiply that by 100!” the 21-year-old tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story.

“I’ve never tried it, I don’t wear sequins, I’m not in this world at all. So it’s super new, and it’s terrifying, but it’s also awesome. It’s an adrenaline rush. I feel like I live for adrenaline. I’m not really living if I’m not on the edge just a little bit,” he says.

It’s true — when the wildlife conservationist isn’t learning to tango, he’s usually at his family’s Australia Zoo, working with the rehabilitated wildlife. And when he’s not working? He’s adventuring in other ways.

“I’m surfing, skydiving, skateboarding, mountain biking, rock climbing . . . I think it’s the Irwin genetics,” he says. “I was just born to be wild.” 

He continues, “So I’m happy to immerse myself in something new. The very nature of life is fleeting. We don’t know what tomorrow holds, so you have to take calculated risks, you have to have fun, enjoy what you’re doing, and give everything 100 percent. But you also have to be sensible about it — my family always tries to remind me of that!”

He admits that not everyone would agree that wrangling crocs is “sensible.”

“There’s a technique to it, though!” he says. “I know it looks crazy, just hurtling yourself on top of a croc, but there’s also a reason behind it. The only reason I jump on a croc is because I’m either rescuing it or it’s part of our research project. We’ve been doing this for 20 years with some of the leading scientific institutions, and we’ve learned so much about them… these are animals that we need to protect. But they can be a hard sell!”

One reason Irwin is excited about Dancing with the Stars is that he’ll be able to get his message about wildlife conservation to a larger audience.

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“In my line of work, I get to see two sides to the same coin,” he says.

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“I see the beauty of nature, because I’m immersed in it every day, but I also get to see the absolute atrocities that are happening to the natural world. I mean, there’s no two ways about it — we’re going through a very, very tough time with the planet and climate change.”

He says he holds out hope that it’s not too late to turn things around.

“I do truly believe this is the decade, the period in human history that will define the rest of our existence,” he says.

“I see firsthand habitat destruction, poaching, fires through climate change that are wiping out millions of acres of land. I see koalas that are dying off in numbers we’ve never seen before. And I feel a great responsibility as an advocate to shine a light on that, and to try and lead with a sense of positivity. Yes, here are all the terrible things happening, but there’s still time. We can fix it.”

Dancing with the Stars season 34 premieres Tuesday, Sept. 16, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and simulcast on Disney+. The show streams the next day on Hulu.