Grace Warrior Irwin Powell is less than a year old, but she’s already famous worldwide. The daughter of Bindi Irwin and granddaughter of Crocodile Hunter Steve, baby Grace is starring in the new season of Crikey! It’s The Irwins.
The season premiere opens with Bindi taking Grace for a walk around Australia Zoo, with husband Chandler, mum Terri and brother Robert tagging along.
“Motherhood has been the greatest adventure of my entire life,” Bindi says. “I’ve never worried so much in my life, because I want her to be absolutely healthy and happy a hundred per cent of the time. But I am also happier than ever, just being with my family and just enjoying time together.”
Grace is a bit young to do anything more than look cute, so the rest of the episode involves the older Irwins working with the zoo’s animals.
Bindi is keeping an eye on the koalas. One of them, Stella, has recently had a joey. But the keepers are worried, because the joey doesn’t weigh as much as he should. Another koala, Cedar, is also causing concern, having suddenly become ill and weak. Things escalate quickly, and soon, an emotional Bindi is heading off to “hug my daughter”.
Meanwhile, Robert has a massive job to do: capture 10 of the zoo’s alligators and move them to their new home. Apparently, alligators are a bit more mild-mannered than crocs – Robert insists they have a “fairly sweet nature” – but it’s still not an easy task.
It takes skill and courage to catch the gators, and it’s clear that Robert has picked up a lot from his parents. Although he was only two when his dad passed away in 2006, he’s been able to watch him in videos.
By the end of the episode, Robert is feeling proud of himself – and he knows how his dad would be feeling.
“I reckon he’d be pretty stoked,” he says.