17-year-old Bindi Irwin may be transforming from a girl to an adult in front of Australia’s eyes, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the heartbreaking and crushing effect of the death of her father the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin in 2006.
‘You never actually move on from it,’ the wildlife campaigner told Sunday Style, admitting that it was ‘tough to get out of bed’ in the weeks and months following the tragedy.
‘As a little kid I remember people coming up to me and saying “I’m so sorry for your loss sweetheart, but time heals all wounds,”‘ she recalls.
‘There really isn’t a greater lie. It’s just not true. It’s like losing a part of your heart. And when you’ve lost that, you never get it back. Part of you will always be missing.’
Steve was killed by an eight-foot stingray in 2006 while filming an Ocean’s Deadliest documentary in north Queensland.
Bindi has since continued her father’s conservation work at Australia Zoo in Queensland, where she and her younger brother Robert have dedicated their lives to being ‘Wildlife Warriors’.
Last month Bindi, currently dating 18-year-old wakeboarder Chandler Powell, celebrated her 17th birthday in true Irwin style – by dangling a huge piece of meat into the jaws of a hungry crocodile.
She enjoyed her milestone birthday surrounded by her favourite people – and animals – at Australia Zoo.
In typical Bindi style she kept khaki-clad for the occasion wearing her uniform top, but broke the mould and slipped her pins into a pair of fashionable skinny jeans.
That said, she told Sunday Style she intends to step away from khaki, saying that ‘being a bit of a girl is always exciting.’
The teenager says she is looking forward to talking over the management of the zoo.
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Source: Daily Mail Online
