Steve Irwin’s daughter to be ‘wildlife warrior’

Bindi Irwin is ready to continue her famous father’s work: spreading the wonder of wildlife.

“I’m going to become a wildlife warrior just like he was,” 8-year-old Bindi, daughter of the late Steve Irwin, told an audience Friday at Washington’s National Press Club.

Five months after Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray, Bindi and her mother, Terri Irwin, are on a U.S. tour to promote Bindi’s upcoming television series.

Asked Friday if the attention was too much too soon, Terri Irwin said that Bindi told her after Steve Irwin’s death that she wanted to get back to filming wildlife shows as soon as possible.

“Grief is a road that each individual travels in their own way,” Terri Irwin said, her daughter by her side. “For us to get right back up and be able to say that Steve’s work counted for something” has been a help to the Irwin family and others.

Steve Irwin was killed in September after a stingray’s barb stabbed him in the chest during the filming of a documentary. Terri Irwin has said the family destroyed the video of Irwin’s death.

As proof of her commitment to her father’s work, Bindi described some of the world’s most ferocious animals as “so sweet and gentle,” praising crocodiles as “such great mothers” and snakes as “just gorgeous.”

Bindi has appeared on several entertainment and news shows while in the U.S. She was asked to compare snakes with reporters.: “I really think I like poisonous snakes,” she said, grinning for the dozens of assembled cameras and journalists.