KIDS
A legacy to conserve
In a concert, Steve Irwin's clan will press his wildlife protection cause.

Ambassador for animals
(www.australia.com)
Only four months after the death of its patriarch, the family of iconic wildlife enthusiast Steve Irwin is carrying on his legacy.
"You have good days and really rough days," Terri Irwin says quietly, speaking by phone from Australia about the loss of her husband, the man who was known to millions as the Crocodile Hunter.
Irwin was fatally struck in the heart by a stingray barb in September, during filming of an underwater documentary on the Great Barrier Reef off Queensland.
His American-born wife and "best mate" and their children, Bindi, 8, and Robert, 3, are "still coming to grips with everything," she says from the Irwin family's Australia Zoo.
"It'll be a long road, but we really feel Steve's presence and enthusiasm and passion, and it's giving us inspiration to keep up the fight."
Terri Irwin and Bindi — outspoken about her desire to follow in Dad's sizable footprints — are leading the effort to sustain Steve Irwin's legacy of worldwide wildlife conservation. Part of that effort will bring mother and daughter to Los Angeles on Sunday for a "G'Day U.S.A. Aussie Family Concert," at the Ahmanson Theatre.
The pair will share star billing with Australian children's music superstars the Wiggles. Also appearing will be Bindi's song-and-dance group, the Crocmen; close friend and Australia Zoo director Wes Mannion; the Qantas Girls Choir and an assortment of live animals.
The concert, presented by Tourism Queensland, is part of an annual "Australia Week" promotion of that country as a travel destination. Steve Irwin had participated in previous years and was to have performed with Bindi in this year's concert, which next travels to the New York City Center on Jan. 20.
Instead, Terri Irwin will join Bindi and Mannion in "wrangling stacks of wildlife" onstage.
"We'll have baby tigers, orangutans, camels, huge snakes, beautiful birds, lots of great wildlife," Terri Irwin says with Croc Hunter-style excitement. "Our role is getting people enthusiastic about wildlife, because we've got wildlife you can't find anywhere else in the world."
Irwin family friends the Wiggles, who filmed a "Wiggly Safari" video several years ago with Steve, Terri and Bindi, will perform their signature song-and-dance show, while Bindi will spread the Croc Hunter's "Wildlife Warrior" message through animal-themed songs. She'll get the audience on its feet for some musical participation too.
It will be Bindi's first time performing live in the United States, but butterflies shouldn't be a problem, her mom says, because Bindi, who paid moving tribute to her father in an internationally broadcast memorial held at the zoo in September, performs regularly for audiences of 5,000-plus in the zoo's Crocoseum amphitheater.

The pint-sized animal ambassador sings too, in "Bindi's KidFitness," the newly released aerobics video that she made with her father early last year.

"It's Steve and Bindi cooking together, playing together and Bindi dancing and Steve trying to and not doing very well," Irwin explains, laughing. "It's just a stack of fun."

Bindi has also recently resumed filming her Discovery Channel series, "Bindi, the Jungle Girl." Early episodes feature her father, who was very much involved with the series.

Bindi's public activities since her father's death have earned criticism in some quarters, but "it's comforting to do what's familiar," Terri Irwin says firmly.
"Bindi's filmed with us all her life, throughout 'Croc Hunter,' 'Croc Diaries' and 'Croc Files.' She was born on TV. It's not like we put on a suit and go to work and now we're filming. It's the most normal, natural thing."
Spreading the wildlife message and continuing the work of her husband, who put his considerable earnings and energy into conservation projects around the world, is the best way to honor him, Terri Irwin says.
Many supporters of the man who made "crikey" a household word — even for non-Aussies — agree. Since his death, contributions have poured into Irwin's Wildlife Warriors conservation fund. Among its beneficiaries are Australian crocodiles and koalas, South African cheetahs, Asian elephants, the zoo's state-of-the-art wildlife hospital, a large-scale land conservation effort in Australia and veterinary help for regions engaged in species and habitat management.
While Steve Irwin's conservation work was not as widely known as his colorful Croc Hunter TV persona, he left detailed information "about the direction he wanted to take for the next 10 years," Terri Irwin says.
"We miss him desperately, but this is such important work and the world is at such a precarious place. We'll continue this fight for the rest of our lives."