The Irwin family feud began 13 years ago when Bob Snr quit Australia Zoo because he was concerned the wildlife park he'd founded in 1970 was becoming a 'circus'.
The story of Bob's controversial departure from the family business resurfaced this week after he was fiercely criticised by his granddaughter Bindi, 22, who accused the 82-year-old in a Facebook post on Sunday of 'ignoring' her since she was child.
Various reports from the time of Bob's exit from Australia Zoo claim he was worried the Sunshine Coast tourist attraction was becoming 'too commercial' - and even feared a then nine-year-old Bindi was being pushed into child stardom.
Dispute: The Irwin family feud began 13 years ago when Bob Snr quit Australia Zoo because he was concerned the wildlife park he'd founded in 1970 was becoming a 'circus'. Pictured: Terri Irwin with her children, Bindi and Robert, alongside Bob Irwin Snr (right) at a memorial for the late Steve Irwin at Australia Zoo in Queensland on September 20, 2006
When Bob left the zoo for good in 2008 - two years after the death of his famous son, Steve 'The Crocodile Hunter' Irwin - his daughter in-law Terri was said to be planning a five-year expansion 'to make it Australia's peak tourist destination with a Disneyland feel', reported The Age.
This plan apparently didn't sit well with Bob, who felt Australia Zoo should focus on conservation instead of following a commercial path and becoming a 'circus'.
By his own admission, Bob felt he'd become an unwelcome presence at Australia Zoo as the business grew into a major attraction aimed at American tourists.
Rift: The story of Bob's controversial departure from the family business resurfaced this week after he was fiercely criticised by his granddaughter Bindi, 22, who accused the 82-year-old in a Facebook post on Sunday of 'ignoring' her since she was child. Pictured: Terri, Robert Jnr, Bindi and Bob Snr next to a statue of the Irwin family at Australia Zoo on November 15, 2007
'It's a strange feeling to spend half your lifetime building something up and walking away from it,' told ABC's Australian Story in April 2008.
'I was becoming a disrupting influence, not that I meant to be.'
Tellingly, when he resigned from the family business in 2008, he made no reference in his farewell statement to his daughter-in-law.
He also said he wanted to 'continue Steve's dream' of wildlife conservation at his own reserve in Kingaroy - with the suggestion being Terri's new vision of Australia Zoo wasn't what his son would have wanted.
At the time, Terri denied rumours a personal rift was behind Bob's decision to leave.
'I just can assure everyone that I love Bob dearly... he's gone through so much grief losing his [first] wife and his only son that I will respectfully just leave it at that,' she said.
Meanwhile, various reports suggested that Bob - a former plumber who became a conservationist after moving to Queensland in the 1970s - was also 'upset' with Bindi's growing media profile in the years after Steve's death.
Despite these concerns, Terri has always maintained her daughter embarked on a media career as a child willingly because of her natural talent for performing.
By the time Bob severed ties with Australia Zoo in 2008, the little girl had appeared in various TV shows, and released a clothing range and
