Bindi Irwin became a household name when she was just a little girl, as the daughter of beloved Australian wildlife conservationist Steve Irwin. The world fell in love with Steve and his family, including Bindi, her brother Robert, and their mother Terri, by watching their international hit series The Crocodile Hunter.
Since that time, Bindi (now 26) as well as Robert, Terri, Bindi’s husband Chandler Powell (who she married in 2019) and the couple’s daughter Grace (3), have all carried on Steve’s mission, operating Australia Zoo and bringing global attention to wildlife conservation. Bindi also followed in her father’s footsteps by becoming a media personality in her own right, as an actress, reality show star and even winning Dancing with the Stars.
Recently, she gained international attention once again by sharing that she’d had surgery for endometriosis, a condition she had privately struggled with for a decade. In this week’s Meet a Mom interview, we asked Bindi to share a bit more about her family life at Australia Zoo!
Your father was a celebrated conservationist and devoted dad. How has becoming a mom, and in many ways following in his footsteps, helped you remain close to him?
Grace is getting to the age where she finds my dad’s documentaries absolutely fascinating. She also adores ‘Wiggly Safari’ which features The Wiggles, my parents and a very, very young me!
Having our daughter has been a healing experience that I didn’t expect. Grief is an ever-changing journey and navigating the loss of Dad has been a big part of my life just like it has been for my mum and brother. Since having Grace, my heart feels lighter and my grief has changed. She has helped me find magic in the every day, and has reminded me to truly appreciate each life moment.
She is also opening my eyes to a new perspective with my dad’s documentaries. I’m rewatching and reliving all these incredible moments of him, with my daughter, who is in the living room excitedly yelling ‘Crikey!’ and ‘Crocs Rule!’
Love that! As a conservationist, what does a typical day look like for you?
This is a surprisingly difficult question as our days are constantly changing and always so different. I wouldn’t say there is ever a ‘typical day’ for me or my family. We just returned from our annual crocodile research trip in Far North Queensland on the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve.
We spent more than a month in one of the most remote places in Australia, working alongside the University of Queensland catching crocodiles to track and unlock their secrets. We are [now] getting ready for Queensland school holiday croc shows in our Crocoseum. We feed the crocodiles daily whenever we can, and we can’t wait to see all of our wonderful zoo guests. We own and operate Australia Zoo, where we also live, which means we are never late for work! Running a zoo means that our days are always super busy and that’s exactly how we like it. Australia Zoo is like a resort for wildlife, with enormous habitats for all our animals.
We are part of endangered species breeding programs that are vital for species protection, and our goal is to provide world’s best animal experiences for our guests. We want everyone who visits Australia Zoo to leave with a greater appreciation for our natural world and a desire to protect Mother Earth. We also run our nonprofit organization, Wildlife Warriors, which supports global conservation initiatives. The Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital is one of our largest conservation projects. The hospital was opened by my mum and dad back in 2004, in honor of my grandmother, Lyn Irwin, who was a dedicated wildlife carer. From humble beginnings, the wildlife hospital has grown significantly and now treats approximately 10,000 patients per year.
Why did you decide to share your endometriosis journey?
It was an extremely difficult decision to share my journey publicly because it was such a deeply personal and awful experience. At the end of the day, I wanted to share the story to hopefully help other girls and women going through a similar circumstance. Endometriosis and all women’s health issues can make you feel lonely, isolated and without hope. No one should ever feel dismissed or unheard. I wanted to start a conversation about women’s health and hopefully validate the pain so many are going through.
You also recently talked about getting asked if you’ll have more children. Why is this so incredibly frustrating?
You never know what an individual or family is going through. Most of us don’t share the most painful parts of our lives. I spent more than 10 years of my life trying to hide the fact that I was in crippling pain from undiagnosed endometriosis. It’s really hard when people start asking about having children because a lot of people struggle with fertility, physical health, mental health and a myriad of other entirely personal reasons. My husband and I get asked if we’re having more kids on a daily basis and it can start to wear us down. We feel so lucky to have our beautiful daughter. She means the world to us and it feels like a miracle that we have her in our lives.
What are some great ways to teach children about loving animals and taking care of the environment?
I think the best thing you can do is get outside and explore. Whether it is your local park, wildlife facility, beach, national park or even backyard, anything you can do to connect children back to nature is the key to building a sense of empathy towards living things.
At Wildlife Warriors we also have a youth ambassador program for inspiring the next generation of Wildlife Warriors. The Visionary Wildlife Warrior program gives young people aged 4 – 17 years the opportunity to grow their knowledge of wildlife species and natural habitats, and discover the many ways to help conserve them. Kids can raise funds and awareness to support global conservation efforts and earn wild fundraising prizes along the way. Taking part in protecting wild places in their community by completing conservation missions – the little things can make a big difference.
Participating in initiatives like our Backyard Campout, Readathon and fantastic conservation activities, the program is free and kids can participate from anywhere in the world. To learn more you can visit our website: wildlifewarriors.org (http://wildlifewarriors.org/)
How has your mother served as an example of a great mom?
Since having Grace I see more and more how much Mum gave to ensure my brother and I could be where we are today. She is the most remarkable woman I know, raising two young children as a single parent when Dad died, while also running Australia Zoo, Wildlife Warriors and now The Crocodile Hunter Lodge. I truly believe that she is superhuman and if I can be even half the amazing mama she is, I’ll be on a win. The greatest gift Mum gave to me and Robert was her unconditional love and being there for us no matter what. I cherish every moment with my family and looking back, she was there for me with all her heart no matter what was happening in our lives. I’ll be grateful for that forever and I want Grace to feel loved and supported the same way throughout her life.
What’s something that people don’t know about you?
I am terrified of wasps and centipedes. I have terrible reactions to their sting/bite and they absolutely freak me out.
Anything else you’d like to share?
I am super excited for my new children’s book You Are a Wildlife Warrior to officially launch in February. I have been working on this special story since Grace was born and it means so much to me. The story follows our lives at Australia Zoo and Wildlife Warriors, inspiring the next generation of change makers. It’s actually available now for preorder in Australia and the USA! Link here: http://linktr.ee/bindiirwin
More from The North County Moms:
Meet a Mom — Bestselling Author & North County Mom, Renée Carlino
Meet a Mom: Chamber of Mothers CEO & Co-Founder Erin Erenberg
Meet a Mom — Mackenzie Rubish — North County Winner of Roku’s The Great American Baking Show
Meet a Mom: Comedian & Actress Ilana Glazer