Steve Irwin's Family Talks to 'GMA' Three Months Later

ByABC News via logo
December 6, 2006, 6:27 PM

Dec. 7, 2006 — -- Terri and Bindi Irwin, the wife and daughter of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, talk to "Good Morning America" Friday about how they've coped since the Australian conservationist and TV personality was killed by a stingray three months ago.

The incident happened while Irwin was filming a documentary, "The Ocean's Deadliest," off the coast of Queensland, Australia, in the Great Barrier Reef. He was struck in the heart with the barb of a stingray and died shortly after he pulled it from his chest.

Watch "Good Morning America" Friday for the live interview with Terri and Bindi Irwin.

As Irwin's family and friends publicly grieved in front of the cameras, 8-year-old Bindi seemed to handle the loss with amazing poise. Her demeanor caused many to wonder if her behavior was, in fact, healthy; in the past several weeks, she has met with a psychologist.

"I asked him [the psychologist] if everything was OK, because Bindi has been so happy," Terri said in the December issue of the Australian Women's Weekly. "And he said, 'Why? Are you worried? That's what you want -- a well-adjusted child who can handle a tragedy and see that life goes on.'"

Late last month, it was announced that Bindi would begin writing a column about wildlife for children for the Australian Women's Weekly.

"Bindi doing this is carrying on her father's work, and I believe that helps her cope with her father's death," Deborah Thomas, the magazine's editor in chief, told The Australian, the national daily newspaper. "The column is something she will be very proud of and will involve other kids in a positive way, and I don't think that can be criticized. She is certainly an outgoing girl. She's an amazing little girl."

News of the youngster's column came on the heels of her release of a kids fitness DVD and the continued production of her Discovery Channel series; production was stopped after her father's death. All this begs the question: How much is too much for an 8-year-old girl?

John Stainton, Steve Irwin's friend and manager, defended Bindi in the London newspaper The Guardian.