Bob's last stand TAKING BACK THE ZOO!

AFTER YEARS OF SILENCE STEVE'S DAD IS FIGHTING BACK

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Bob Irwin knows full well he's not getting any younger. But as the committed conservationist nears his 84th birthday next month, he is preparing to enter the battle of his life - to finally try and reclaim his iconic Australia Zoo.

According to a well placed source, Bob has never been more determined to take back what he believes is rightly his, even if that means going head-to head with his estranged daughter-in-law, Terri, 58. He feels the zoo was whisked away from him following the 2006 death of his son Steve.

"Bob's genuine passion for the environment and all creatures great and small has given him the courage to push Terri to hand back the keys, before the place turns into something so far from what he always dreamed it would be," the source reveals exclusively to New Idea.