This 4th of September marks the 15th year when internationally-beloved Aussie zookeeper and television personality, Steve Irwin, had passed on.
To commemorate, the Irwins took to their respective social media to honour the ‘Crocodile Hunter’.
Steve’s daughter, Bindi, has paid a heartrending tribute to her dad by wishing that he could meet his granddaughter, Grace.
Despite taking a hiatus from social media earlier this year, Bindi posted a photo of her daughter along with a ‘throwback’ photo of her and her father with the caption:
“This sweetheart has been watching her ‘Grandpa Crocodile’ on the projector at our camp here on the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve. She lights up when she sees him on screen.
I wish with all my heart that dad could hug my beautiful girl. It’s been 15 years since he passed away.
I hold on to the thought that he’s her guardian angel now, watching over the most special part of my life, Grace Warrior.”
Loving messages flooded the comment sections of Bindi’s posts.
“He’s guiding her, protecting her, and loving her… and he is so proud of you,” the ‘pug mom’ of internet-sensation ‘Doug the Pug’, Leslie Mosier, commented on Instagram.
“This is so precious I’m literally tearing up as someone who has also lost a parent. It’s indescribably hard, but the love you and your entire family have is inspirational and beautiful and brings me comfort,” a user on Twitter commented
Steve’s wife, Terri, took to Twitter writing:
“Today is a special day to remember Steve’s mission and message. He was determined to inspire us to be Wildlife Warriors, protecting wildlife & wild places.
We can honour his legacy by remembering that every animal is precious…even the ones with big teeth!”
Before his death anniversary, Steve’s son, Robert, paid tribute to his dad by posting a picture of him holding onto a crocodile captioned:
“What an honour getting to keep Dad’s mission for crocodile conservation forging ahead by learning about them in the wild. It’s a humbling experience sharing time with modern-day dinosaurs!”
Steve, popularly known as ‘The Crocodile Hunter’, died in 2006 after a stingray barb pierced his chest. According to a Guardian report, the accident happened when the Australian zookeeper was filming an underwater documentary off of Port Douglas.
While the crew with Steve alerted the emergency service, the 44-year-old died before the paramedics had arrived, the report added.
