The 20-year-old conservationist also talks about being proud to follow in her father's footsteps.
It's never easy to lose a loved one.
It's been 13 years since Steve Irwin died, and Bindi Irwin never knows when her grief will hit her the most. In a new interview with Stellar magazine, the 20-year-old Crikey! It’s The Irwins star reveals that she recently teared up while watching footage of her late father.
"It was just an ordinary day and we were playing the video where we petition against harvesting of crocodile eggs," she recalls. "There's old footage of Dad with the crocodiles and, even though I've seen the video maybe 50 times, that day I started crying."
"Some days you feel the grief more than others," she explains. "What gets to me are those moments when I’d love him to be here to share what we’re doing. It could be when my brother [Robert] is receiving an accolade for his photography, or it might be at the end of the day when we’re having dinner and laughing. I’ll think: 'I wish Dad was here for this.' But he’s just not there."
Bindi was only 8 when her father was killed by a stingray's barb, but she still remembers how wise he was.
"Sometimes I wish I could ask him a question: 'How would you do this?' or 'What do you think about this?' He was an incredible sounding board and incredibly wise. I miss that," she adds.
The young conservationist, who turns 21 next week, couldn't be happier following in her father's footsteps and changing the world.
"I'm living the dream! How many young people start their day watching a giraffe being born and end the day bottle-feeding a joey kangaroo? I don’t know how I'd cope if I was living in suburbia with a goldfish," she exclaims. "I care about the planet and my destiny is to make a difference. We’re doing it our own way, but you can feel Dad's spirit in everything we do. I've found such comfort in being able to follow in his footsteps."
There's no doubt that Steve Irwin would be proud of his daughter. As for Bindi's mother, Terri, she sees a lot of her late husband in her eldest child.
"She is surprisingly more like Steve," Terri admits. "She is a sweet lovely person with a deep soul and a great capacity for empathy. When it really matters, she will stand up for something. I've seen her do something I couldn’t do in a situation where it was really important. She’s a force to be reckoned with."
For Bindi, she's not only involved in the family business and helping the planet, she's also a mentor and role model for young girls around the world.
"As I get older I’m more and more passionate about inspiring young women to stand up in roles which were traditionally more male dominated -- such as working with reptiles," she muses. "It can be kinda scary standing up for what you believe in, especially with social media because the world is extremely critical, but we have to find the strength to stay true to what we believe in and forge ahead."
For more on Bindi and the Irwin family, watch below.
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