The only thing Steve Irwin loved as much as animals was his family. The Crocodile Hunter had the biggest heart focused on wildlife conservation and teaching others about the wonderful creatures of the world — a passion that his family has carried on since his tragic death in 2006. And this week, the Australia Zoo decided to make us all cry by posting a throwback photo of Steve with his daughter Bindi Irwin when she was just a baby.
Spoiler alert: it is the most adorable picture we’ve ever seen!
Father-Daughter Moment
“Flashing back to this special dad-daughter Wildlife Warrior moment💕,” the photo on the Australia Zoo Instagram account was captioned. The heartfelt photo from the late ‘90s shows Steve in his famous khaki holding a koala in one arm. The sweet creature has his hands on Steve’s back, looking totally cozy with the conservationist. In his other arm, Steve holds a baby Bindi with his entire hand wrapped around her stomach. She is wearing a tiny Australia Zoo khaki shirt (a mini version of her dad’s!) and is looking off at something in the distance.
Steve smiles at the camera, looking so happy to be holding his baby girl and a koala, and Bindi has a face of wonder and amazement, with her pretty brown eyes and light brown hair. Also, not fazed at all by the koala because seeing wildlife was just so common for her.
Heartfelt Comments
If you thought the picture alone made you emotional, just wait until you read the comments! Bindi’s mom Terri Irwin wrote a special note for her daughter. “Your dad loves you so much, dear Bindi ❤️,” she said. If you need to stop reading and take a second to compose yourself (read: bawl your eyes out), then I totally get it. Steve may be gone, but this family still clearly loves each other so much, and we will never get over it!
Others felt just as teary-eyed as we do. “Bindi is so cute in this! 😍 I miss Steve 😢even tho I never met him,” one person wrote.
“Your dad is your guardian angel 😇,” someone else said. Another shared, “Forever loved, always missed, never forgotten 💜.”
Family Time
Right now, Bindi, Terri, and the rest of the family are spending time with Terri’s side of the family. She shared two photos taken in Oregon, where her sister Bonnie Marineau and her husband John live. In one picture, Bindi stands next to her husband Chandler Powell and her brother Robert on one side, and Terri on the other side. Bonnie and John stand on the end as they all smile in a forest next to a reindeer statue.
In the next picture, Bindi and Powell’s 2-year-old daughter Grace joins the family photo, sitting on the reindeer and holding a stuffed sheep toy. Grace is dressed in a pink butterfly coat, pink pants, and pink boots as she smiles on the back of the reindeer, looking so happy. It’s clear family is still so important to the Irwins!
The Irwins’ Mission
On the 17th anniversary of Steve’s death in Sept. 2023, Robert shared an old interview with his dad, where he answers if there’s anything that would make him “give away” what he’s doing now.
“Yes. Yes, there is,” he says in the video on TikTok. “When my children can take the football that I call wildlife conservation and run it off.” He explained, “When they’re ready to run up our mission, I will gladly step aside. And, I guarantee you, it’ll be the proudest moment of my life.”
We weren’t expecting to get this emotional on a Tuesday morning, but here we are!
Before you go, check out all the ways Bindi Irwin’s daughter Grace is following in her mama’s footsteps.
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