While he was content to toil in the shadow of his famous son, the patriarch of the Irwin clan, Bob, apparently reserves no such favours for the current management at Australia Zoo — and he's determined to wrest the spotlight from them in a bid to control Steve's conservation legacy.

So displeased is he with some of the zoo's commercial ventures since his son's death in 2006, the softly spoken environmentalist has declared his intention to personally take on the fight to save our endangered species, insisting that it is his duty to continue Steve's work.

"Steve is the reason I came out of the bush," Bob told ABC radio last week in Canberra, where he met with politicians to discuss the wildlife crisis. "While Steve was around I was more than happy to stay in the background. But I feel that I'm now responsible and I don't want to waste that opportunity."

Bob also warned that "the wrong people" had been advising the Government on how to ensure the survival of koalas in Queensland, and that the species was in danger of disappearing in just two years.

"Over the next couple of years, if the Government doesn't get their act together and listen to the researchers, our kids are not going to see koalas in Queensland," he said. Bob's comments come amid a long-standing feud between Bob and Australia Zoo over how best to continue Steve's work protecting endangered species. He is reportedly unhappy about the surge in activities seemingly unrelated to conservation at the iconic institution.

"Bob is angry that the zoo is being turned into a circus and the focus on animal conservation and education is being lost," one source told a Queensland paper.