Robert Irwin's terrifying encounter with 350kg crocodile at Australia Zoo

Robert Irwin had a close call with a huge croc. Photo / Animal Planet

Robert Irwin has narrowly escaped the jaws of a crocodile in terrifying new footage.

The 18-year-old, who is the son of late crocodile hunter Steve Irwin, is clearly following in his father's footsteps as he's seen attempting to feed Australia Zoo's near four-metre long 350kg "white" croc, Casper, on the finale of Crikey! It's The Irwins.

In the gripping episode, which airs on Animal Planet on Foxtel, Robert was seen testing whether Casper was comfortable to participate in the Queensland zoo's iconic croc shows.

But it went a little unexpected, as Casper neglected the food on offer and jumped at Robert instead as he shouted, "Bail! Bail! Bail!", before darting in the other direction.

Taking to Instagram, Robert said it was the "most intense croc feed I've done".

He added: "We prioritise natural behaviour with our crocs. By getting in their enclosures with them, and letting them put on those huge strikes from the water's edge, they get to use all of their predatory instincts and they just love it! But safety for us is also crucial and you definitely have to know when to call it. And with such a powerful and quick croc like Casper we had no choice but to bail!".

Steve himself rescued Casper – a leucistic saltwater crocodile – from the Kimberleys in Western Australia back in 2002.

Footage shows the terrifying moment the crocodile leaps out of the water. Photo / Animal Planet

Leucistic means the crocodile lacks melanin pigment, and is considered more rare than albinism, with approximately one in 10,000 animals having the condition.

Steve wrote an article about Casper for International Crocodile Rescue at the time: "His aggression was astounding and it sure made top jaw-roping him exciting, but unfortunately just as I predicted he bit the pool pole off and it was caught in his mouth under the ropes!

"Now we had to come up with a name for the most spectacular-looking crocodile we'd ever seen. It was easy – Casper; although he's still not even remotely friendly like his ghostly namesake.

"We absolutely love our big boy Casper. He's nearly 12ft long and to this day remains very, very aggressive – Mate, he is a snappy croc."