Bindi Irwin Encourages Kids To Become ‘Wildlife Warriors’

FLORA LICHTMAN: This is Science Friday. I’m Flora Lichtman. More than 20 years ago, conservationists Terri and the late Steve Irwin captured the world’s attention with their show The Crocodile Hunter.

STEVE IRWIN: Hey, hey, hey, hey! What’s going on here? This croc is going ballistic. Woo! I can’t believe this. Every way I turn my goggles, I can see sharks. Crikey! It was dangerous.

FLORA LICHTMAN: It introduced millions of people to the Australia Zoo and the strange and sometimes scary wildlife from down under. Now their daughter, Bindi Irwin, runs the zoo with her family and has taken up the conservation mantle.

Her new book is called You Are a Wildlife Warrior– Saving Animals and the Planet. In it, she takes young readers on an adventure through the zoo along with her daughter, Grace. Bindi, welcome to Science Friday.

BINDI IRWIN: Thank you so much. G’day. I’m so happy to be here.

FLORA LICHTMAN: Let’s talk about your new book. What made you want to write it?

BINDI IRWIN: Oh, my goodness! I am so excited and so proud of my book. I have to say, this book all came about because of our beautiful daughter, Grace. I held our gorgeous daughter in my arms for the first time and went, oh, my goodness, I can’t even imagine the amazing life ahead of her.

And here at Australia Zoo, our whole world revolves around conservation, pretty much. It’s not just what we do, it is who we are, our conservation work. And I had a small feeling that our daughter would love wildlife and wild places as well.

And of course, we would have supported her if she didn’t, absolutely. But as she–

FLORA LICHTMAN: How old is she now, Bindi?

BINDI IRWIN: She is three and a half. And as she’s grown up, she has only gotten more excited and more involved in all of our conservation work. And boy, does she love animals. It is so beautiful to see.

So this book kind of bloomed from there and hopefully inspiring the next generation of wildlife warriors to appreciate and explore our gorgeous Mother Earth.

FLORA LICHTMAN: Well, I have a three-and-a-half-year-old myself.

BINDI IRWIN: Oh, my goodness. So you know this is a time for discovery–

FLORA LICHTMAN: I’m in it with you. I’m in it with you.

BINDI IRWIN: –big emotions, all the things. Congratulations.

FLORA LICHTMAN: You, too. It is wonderful to see the world through three-and-a-half-year-old eyes sometimes.

BINDI IRWIN: Yes, definitely wear their hearts on their sleeves, that’s for sure. We always say we never have to wonder what Grace is thinking. She will tell you.

FLORA LICHTMAN: In the book, you invite your readers to be wildlife warriors. Where did that term come from?

BINDI IRWIN: Well, the term “wildlife warriors” actually originated from my dad. My dad first created that term. And it has just become our family’s motto. It means so much to us. Being a wildlife warrior means to stand up and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves and to make a difference for the planet.

FLORA LICHTMAN: I was watching some old clips of your dad, Steve Irwin, who was just so engaging, of course, to watch.

BINDI IRWIN: Thank you.

FLORA LICHTMAN: And I was thinking about how he brought this sort of– for lack of a better term, and you might have a better term for it– but this sort of wild-man energy to conservation. There’s shredding guitars and crock wrestling.

And I wondered whether that was a conscious choice, like a strategy to bring people in to conservation who might not otherwise care about animals or about crocodiles. I don’t know. What do you think?

BINDI IRWIN: I do like– was it a strategy? I appreciate the question. Thank you. But I have to tell you that was Dad to his very core. I mean, what you saw–

FLORA LICHTMAN: That’s just who he was.

BINDI IRWIN: What you saw on camera, there was no strategy there. That was 100% him 100% of the time, truly. He was the most passionate– we describe Dad as a living hurricane. He was a living hurricane just stuffed inside a person.

He was always, always so passionate about everything that he did. And when you’re a kid and you see something amazing, you fully embrace it and go, crikey, this is amazing, and get excited about it. And I remember growing up, that is who he was.

We would wake up in the morning, and– he started his day of work at about 2:30 in the morning. He couldn’t sleep. He had just so much he wanted to get done. He’d burst through the door in the morning and go, we’re heading out to Windorah. We’re going to do research with their snakes. Or we’re going to go climb a mountain.

And he never stopped. And he was so passionate about everything that he did. And truly, what you saw on camera was who he was. And I feel like so many people lose that sense of wonder and inspiration and awe for our world. And Dad didn’t lose that.

Here’s something interesting. Dad– we all talk about live every day as if it’s your last. And Dad really did. In fact, after he got done doing some incredible wildlife thing that we were often there for, whether it was feeding a crocodile or swimming with whale sharks, he would go, well, now I can die.

And he meant it. He was like, this was such an incredible moment in my life, that if I’m gone today, I feel completely happy and at peace and grateful for the experience. And oh, my goodness. We all talk about living each day as if it’s our last. But we should actually feel that sense of wonder in our world and do things that genuinely make us happy.

Yeah, I really appreciate that lesson that he taught me without realizing it, I think. And as I’ve grown up, I’ve come to realize it more and more. He led by example. And I love that about him.

FLORA LICHTMAN: It is a very powerful way to live. And it’s also very rare, I think.

BINDI IRWIN: It is. It is very rare. It’s very much easier said than done, I think.

FLORA LICHTMAN: Yes. Yes. The book centers you and your daughter– you’re speaking to her in it. Has becoming a parent changed the way that you think about conservation?

BINDI IRWIN: Oh, absolutely. It has become so much more important to me after having Grace. You think about this little person and what future they are going to have on the planet. I want to do everything in my power to make sure that Grace and the future generations are going to live in a world with clean air and fresh drinking water and an abundance of wildlife.

FLORA LICHTMAN: I want to talk a little bit about the zoo and just what it’s like to live on the grounds, what it’s like to run a zoo. Give me a day in your life.

BINDI IRWIN: Oh, my goodness. Well, thank you for asking that. It is never a dull moment. It is always very exciting. So our family, we live and work within Australia Zoo. It’s a family-run business.

So we are busy. I will say it is busy. For those of you thinking about running a zoo, you probably won’t sleep much.

FLORA LICHTMAN: Really?

BINDI IRWIN: But that’s OK because you’ll be very fulfilled. You’ll be like, this is great! No, but in all truth, it is wonderful. And every day is completely different. This is why my dad was so passionate.

The only way you’re going to get people to genuinely want to make a difference is first, by showing them what they should be protecting, showing them how a lemur makes the cutest little chewing noises when it eats its food, how an echidna actually has the funniest little fluff between its little spiky quills, and all of these things that you wouldn’t know about if you just read about it in a book.

Oh, my goodness, what an experience to watch people. I have taken a lot of people on many tours of Australia Zoo, and watching people genuinely connect with an animal, to see that light in their eyes as they realize how amazing it is to have a meerkat standing on your head. And then their questions leading on from that. How can I help protect meerkats? How can I make a difference for them? It is truly inspiring.

But gosh, Australia Zoo– you have to come visit us now. Please come see us.

FLORA LICHTMAN: I’d do anything to see a wombat. I have to tell you.

BINDI IRWIN: I can make that happen. They are so fun. Trust me. As long as you have a sweet potato, the wombats will be your best friends.

FLORA LICHTMAN: Great. My pockets are going to be stuffed with them.

BINDI IRWIN: Yep.

FLORA LICHTMAN: Bindi, thank you so much for joining me today.

BINDI IRWIN: Thank you. It has been so lovely to talk to you. And I feel like you guys are helping people to accidentally learn something along the way, which is just brilliant.

FLORA LICHTMAN: That is our goal. We want to help people accidentally learn things every week. Bindi Irwin is the author of You Are a Wildlife Warrior– Saving Animals and the Planet, and a conservationist at the Australia Zoo.

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