Wildlife Warrior Rove
12:00a.m. 11th April 2009
| By Blythe Seinor

Rove McManus receives his award from Terri Irwin.
Rove McManus and Terri Irwin hammed it up for the cameras at Australia Zoo on Thursday as the Gold Logie winner was named an official Wildlife Warrior for his conservation work.

Terri planted a kiss on Rove’s cheek and threw her arms around him after describing him as a “bit of a spunk”.

“Don’t sell that to the women’s magazines,” Rove joked.

The Channel 10 personality received the award after recently being named Fauna and Flora International’s Australian vice-president, alongside wildlife legend Sir David Attenborough.

A jovial Terri told more than 500 guests at the zoo’s annual VIP breakfast it was a privilege to honour the popular television personality and conservationist.

“I really admire Rove and his passion for conservation,” she said.

“He is one man who uses his great personality and celebrity to raise awareness for worthy causes, and he is bringing the issues of wildlife and wild places to mainstream Australia.”

Among the famous faces at the breakfast was volunteer firefighter David Tree, whose image shot around the world after he was photographed giving water to a koala in the aftermath of Victoria’s bushfires.

David was at the zoo to sign a petition against mining at the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve in Cape York.

The petition has just under 118,000 signatures.

Bindi Irwin, fresh from filming Free Willy: South Africa in the United States, said the petition was an opportunity for kids to help protect wildlife.

She said filming the latest installment in the Free Willy series had been “the time of my life”.

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