Bindi Irwin Says ‘It’s a Little Scary’ How Much Daughter Grace Is Like Her ‘Grandpa Crocodile’ Steve Irwin

The famous Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin tragically died 18 years ago, but his spirit still lives on in his 3-year-old granddaughter Grace Warrior! In an emotional new interview, Steve’s daughter Bindi Irwin revealed that she sees glimmers of her wildlife conservationist dad in her 3-year-old daughter, adding that “it’s a little scary” how much her daughter and her dad are alike. Buckle up: this interview will make you emotional!

The Australia Zoo CEO and her husband Chandler Powell appeared on a recent episode of the In Real Life with Ellie & Ross podcast, where they discussed their relationship, their work, and Irwin’s endometriosis journey. The entire podcast is worth a listen — this couple is too pure for this world! — but toward the end, you’ll need to grab the tissues. Hosts Ellie Gonsalves and Ross Scutts asked Irwin what she would do if she could have one more day with her dad, and her response will make you cry.

“I think I just want to have him be with Grace,” she said simply, adding that she “loves this question.” “I think I would just want to have them be together and just to be able to watch them play, do you know what I mean?” Irwin continued. “That is one of the things… there’s a million times in your life when you have that person that you have lost that you desperately want them to be there for, like getting married or what would you do in this situation? But more than any of that, just to have a few hours where he could just play with Grace.”

“Just to have a minute where he could be with his granddaughter,” she said, stopping to wipe away tears. We are right there with her because oh my goodness this is so sad! Even though Irwin lost her dad almost two decades ago, the pain never really goes away — especially when you let yourself think about what could have been.

It’s not all sad, though. During the podcast, Irwin went on to explain how much Grace is like Steve, who she calls “Grandpa Crocodile.”

“Oh man, he would love [her]. She is so much like him, it’s a little scary,” Irwin continued. “She has so much fire and passion and energy in such a teeny tiny little body. I don’t know where it fits! They would be so similar, and, ah, it would just be fun to watch them play.”

Grace might not have gotten to meet Steve, but she does watch his documentaries, which inspire her as much as it has us. “She gets so excited to watch Grandpa Crocodile. She started doing the ‘Crikey!’s and the ‘danger, danger, danger!’ like jumping on the plush crocs, and it’s so cute to watch her,” Irwin said. (Can you imagine?! We need a video of this because that’s too cute!)

“And she’s starting to connect the fact that the man she sees on the television is her grandfather,” she continued. “Like, she’s like, ‘So that’s mama’s dada?’ and it’s just, it rips your heart out a little bit.” We are full-on ugly crying now because that’s the sweetest and saddest thing ever.

In a previous interview with SheKnows, Irwin told us she has the “best memories” as a kid growing up in Australia Zoo. “It was so incredibly special that [my parents Steve and Terri Irwin] always set aside time to just have fun. I was always running around in the creek or running around with animals or climbing a tree. … I feel very, very blessed that I got that time with my family to run around as a wild child. And it was so much fun! It’s so much fun to have parents that just jump in with you and go.”

“I think my dad was a very good example,” Irwin continued. “What you saw on television was really him. He just had this hurricane-like energy; he would always just pick us up and off we’d go on an adventure together. And it was the very best.”

And now she gets to continue that wild, fun-loving legacy with her toddler, and it’s such a beautiful thing to see.

Before you go, check out all the ways Bindi Irwin’s daughter Grace is following in her mama’s footsteps.