Future Crocodile Hunter. Bindi Irwin‘s daughter, Grace, knows all about her late grandfather, Steve Irwin.
“We have a little construction going on to make our Tasmanian devil habitat @australiazoo even more beautiful,” the Dancing With the Stars alum, 24, captioned a sweet Instagram video of her little girl, 16 months, on Sunday, July 31. “Grace’s favourite part? Visiting Grandpa Crocodile. All the love.”
In the heartwarming footage, the toddler is seen wearing a pink vest over a matching sweater and grey pants as she walks up to a fence on the zoo’s property. A sign on the fence features a photo of Steve, who died in 2006 at age 44 after an accidental stingray attack.
“Do you see him? Is he over here?” Bindi asks her daughter as she runs up to the poster. “Grandpa Crocodile.”
After receiving a little encouragement from her mom, Grace waves to the picture of her late grandpa. “Good girl,” Bindi says. “I love you, sweetheart. Grandpa Crocodile loves you too.”
The conservationist welcomed her baby girl with husband Chandler Powell in March 2021. “Her little wave gets me every time😍,” Powell, 25, commented on the Instagram upload.
Since her father’s death, Bindi has worked hard to carry on his legacy at the Australia Zoo alongside her mother, Terri Irwin, and brother Robert Irwin. The late Crocodile Hunter star’s children have honored Steve’s memory several times over the years, as has Powell, who married Bindi at the zoo in March 2020.
“Thank you for inspiring me and the whole world to love all wildlife,” the Florida native wrote via Instagram while celebrating Steve’s birthday in February 2020. “You would be so proud of Bindi, Terri and Robert carrying on the amazing work you started. We will all make sure your message lives on for generations❤️🐊.”
Ahead of her wedding day, the Bindi the Jungle Girl alum exclusively told Us Weekly how she hoped to “incorporate” her father into the ceremony. “I really wanted Dad to be a big part of the day … and I think it’s going to be really special because I feel like his spirit lives on in us,” the Crikey! It’s the Irwins star said in September 2019. “It’s going to be a celebration of family and friends, our wildlife, and I think that night, it’ll be about our lives together and the joining of families. It’s going to be beautiful.”
When the couple became parents in March 2021, they paid tribute to Steve through their baby’s moniker. “Grace Warrior Irwin Powell. Our graceful warrior is the most beautiful light,” Bindi explained via Instagram at the time. “Grace is named after my great-grandmother and relatives in Chandler’s family dating back to the 1700s. Her middle names, Warrior Irwin, are a tribute to my [late] dad, [Steve Irwin], and his legacy as the most incredible Wildlife Warrior. Her last name is Powell, and she already has such a kind soul just like her dad.”
