Bindi Irwin Says Her Father 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin's Death Still Hurts

"It's like losing a piece of your heart," she says 8 years later.

ByABC News
July 23, 2014, 10:27 AM
Bindi Irwin arrives at the 3rd Annual AACTA Awards Ceremony at The Star, Jan. 30, 2014, in Sydney.
Bindi Irwin arrives at the 3rd Annual AACTA Awards Ceremony at The Star, Jan. 30, 2014, in Sydney.
Don Arnold/WireImage/Getty Images

— -- Bindi Irwin turns 16 on Thursday, but the daughter of the famed Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin said losing her father still hurts 8 years after his death.

Steve Irwin was killed after being struck by a stingray in 2006. His exploits with dangerous animals in dangerous situations were fully documented on his show "The Crocodile Hunter."

"I remember after we lost Dad, so many adults came up to me and said, 'Honey, time heals all wounds,' " Irwin told People magazine. "That is the biggest lie you will ever hear. It doesn't."

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She added that the sadness from losing her father "never goes away."

"It's like losing a piece of your heart that you never get back," she said.

Irwin now lives with her mother Terri and brother Robert at the Australia Zoo.

"When you lose a loved one, you come to these crossroads. You can take the path that leads you down the aisle of sadness, or you can say, 'I'm never going to let this person's memory die. I'm going to make sure everything they worked for continues.'" she added.