Meet Bindi Irwin and family, animal lovers and wildlife warriors

Most kids probably won't remember their first encounter with animals. But early exposure to wildlife is one way to encourage them to care about their environment later on.

 

"It's great for parents if they've got very very young kids to see what they love," says Terri Irwin, wife of the late crocodile hunter Steve Irwin, and mother to Bindi and Robert, who are already wildlife warriors, themselves.

 

Terri shares that, in Robert's case, they encouraged him to love dinosaurs, because this is his passion.

 

"If really small children have a love for something and parents can encourage it by getting them books or taking them to the park or even from the tiniest of age, learning to love wildlife and nature, that's a great thing to do for little kids," she says.

 

Bindi, now 14, recalls how she used to think her family went to the zoo every day, until she realized the zoo was where they lived.  

They can touch your soul

 

Her mother explains that wildlife touches your soul, even if you don't understand why it's important to protect them. 

 

"There's something about going to a park or seeing a beautiful bird or how special it is when a butterfly lands on you," she says.

 

For Bindi, interacting with animals gives people a better appreciation for the environment, and makes them want to protect it.

 

"What's very nice is when you get to meet animals like Jenny and you get to touch them and hold them, they're also touching you," says Bindi, after meeting Jenny, an orangutan.

 

For their family, continuous exposure to wildlife only makes them more enthusiastic about each encounter. "For me today, meeting the Philippine crocodile was just. . .I'll never forget it. It was awesome. Those kinds of moments are things you remember forever," Terri says at a Discovery Kids media launch on April 17, held at Ark Avilon Zoo.

 

During the media launch, the Irwins met animals such as a Palawan bear cat and a Philippine Eagle-Owl.

 

Terri describes the Palawan bearcat as "bizarre." 

 

"It kind of looks like a combination of a seal and a dog and a bear all in one. And it's so special," she says.

 

Meanwhile, Bindi tells the audience about owls. "What's amazing about owls is if you have a look at them, if you watch their head, they can turn it 270 degrees. Their eyes just face forward, so to be able to see where their prey is they have to be able to turn their heads," says Bindi, explaining that they are able to do this because they have 14 vertebrae in their neck.  

Wildlfie warriors help the earth

 

Terri says that the Philippine crocodile is as significant in the reptile world as the panda is in the mammal world. 

 

"When I talk to people in Australia about your beautiful wildlife, some people don't even know about it. It's really important that you know how special your wildlife is," says Terri, who noted that conservation is also about tourism.

 

Bindi says that being a wildlife warrior is more than just protecting the planet yourself. "It's about teaching others about what they can do for planet earth," she says.

 

Robert, 9, adds that there are so many things that kids can do to help the earth. "There's so many things like planting a tree or turning off the tap when you brush your teeth. There's so many really easy and simple things that you can do," he says.

 

Saying they believe in kid empowerment, they encouraged other kids to become wildlife warriors, no matter where they live or how old they are.

 

Every kid can make a difference

 

"Every kid can get involved and make a difference in wildlife and conservation. And it doesn't matter what age you are, whether you're three years old or 103 years old," Bindi says.

 

Bindi shared how kids as young as five get involved in the Wildlife Warriors program, which has conservation projects all over the world. Some kids held bake sales to raise funds for the projects, while one little girl approached a coffee company and got the coffee company to donate 50 cents for every cup of coffee sold to help with wildlife warriors.

 

They also gave other ways that kids can help, such as having a clean up the park day, or simply recycling.

 

Bindi recalls how a movie in a line struck her. "'Children should be seen and not heard.' And I had to ask my mum what that meant, I had never heard that saying before. . .And she told me that back then, kids didn't get to have a voice or an opinion. and they didn't get to stand up for what they believe in," she says. 

 

Bindi continues that they are so lucky to be able to make their voices heard. "We have to stand up and make the change. be the change you want to see in the world," she says. - KDM, GMA News 

"Bindi's Bootcamp: Reboot" airs on Discovery Kids every weekday at 10:30 a.m. starting Monday, April 8.

 

"Steve Irwin's Wildlife Warriors" airs on Discovery Kids on every weekday at 8 p.m. starting July 10.