Croc Hunter's Daughter Welcomed to the Jungle

Mon., Oct. 16, 2006 7:40 PM PDT by Natalie Finn

For the Crocodile Hunter, it was all in the family.

After pledging to carry on her late father's good works, eight-year-old Bindi Irwin is busy filming Bindi, The Jungle Girl, a 26-part wildlife documentary for the Discovery Kids network.

TV star and conservationist Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray barb Sept. 4 while filming a documentary near Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

"I'm trying to get across the message that don't be afraid of animals, they're just put on this earth to help the environment and everything like that," Bindi told ABC's (Australian Broadcast Network's) biography series Australian Story.

"Bindi, The Jungle Girl is really lucky because she lives in a tree house and she gets lots of animals in and out," the eponymous star of the show said. "She hangs out with lots of wildlife. She just loves kissing a koala or hugging a snake."

Sounds familiar.

"Some people think that I would be afraid of them, but I'm never ever afraid of an animal," Bindi continued. "I just get excited, and some that are dangerous I just think, 'Ooh! What's going to happen?' and things like that."

Sadly, the youngster's foray into hosting was originally "going to be a father-daughter thing," Discovery spokeswoman Annie Howell told the Associated Press Monday. "Steve and Bindi were very enthusiastic about doing the show together."

Irwin's manager, John Stainton, told People that the khaki-clad animal-lover will appear on Bindi, The Jungle Girl, in footage shot before his death.

"We'll never refer to the fact that Steve's no longer with us," Stainton said. "The way that it works is that Steve plays costar to Bindi."

Stepping into her father's hiking boots, Bindi also made an appearance at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards Oct. 11 in Sydney, her first public appearance since her tribute brought the crowd to their feet at a memorial service for her dad last month. Bindi was on hand to present the evening's biggest award--Fave Aussie.

"I'm feeling pretty good," Bindi told reporters at the scene. "It's kind of sad that he couldn't be here, but it's nice that I could do it."

Accompanying her was her mum, Terri Irwin, who said: "It's wonderful to have a focus on a special night and I know Steve would have been really proud. Bindi's been looking forward to this for a long time so we're really glad to be here."

Despite some tongue-wagging over whether putting in so much time in the spotlight will be harmful to Bindi in the long run, friends and family have insisted that the child is enjoying herself.

"She's a little rock," Australia Zoo director Wes Manion, a longtime friend of the family, told the West Australian newspaper.

Stainton told the paper that Bindi was the natural choice to represent the family at the Sept. 20 memorial, where more than 5,000 people packed the Crocoseum at Irwin's Australia Zoo.

"Bindi was a contender because, you know, she's quite comfortable talking out in front of a crowd and was quite composed, so she was going to be a starter," Stainton said. "I think she was probably the star attraction of the whole memorial service. I think they don't understand that this little girl is very much enjoying what she's doing. It's part of her life. The sort of psychologist or psychiatrists or child counselors or whatever that jumped on the bandwagon and said it was harmful to her, don't understand the situation whatsoever."