IRWIN RUMOUR GETS THE BITE......
BEHIND the showbiz smiles, the all-singing, all-dancing Irwin family has been targeted by a vicious rumour campaign which is getting those famous khakis twisted into one almighty knot.

For weeks now rumours originating from within Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast have claimed that relations between Terri Irwin and her father-in-law, Bob Irwin, had broken down, that Bob had left the family "compound" at the zoo and was upset with the direction the Irwin empire was headed.

However, those closest to the Irwins say the rumours are not true, are baseless and that there had not been any sort of dispute. Efforts to reach Bob Irwin, who was named 2007's Queensland Grandfather of the Year but did not personally accept the award because he was catching crocodiles in Cape York, were thwarted this week by an apparent lack of any contact information among those closest to the man who taught Steve Irwin just about everything he knew.

Wes Mannion, who manages Australia Zoo, grew up with the late Steve Irwin and is described on the Australia Zoo website as a surrogate brother, was reluctant to talk to PS about the rumours yesterday. Mannion said he had "heard just about every rumour you could imagine", adding that "Bob is a top guy" and that the family was still grieving the loss of Steve Irwin nearly 18 months ago.

"Bob would not be inclined to talk about family matters," he said, adding that Bob and Terri remained close.

Similarly John Stainton, the television executive who introduced Steve Irwin to the world via his internationally successful Crocodile Hunter series and is guiding daughter Bindi's media career, said he was aware of the rumours, but said he "knew nothing about it" when contacted by PS.

Stainton said Bob Irwin had not been involved with Australia Zoo since he handed over the operation to Steve and Terri in 1992, denying rumours he had evicted from the "compound".

It was Bob Irwin and his wife, Lyn (Steve's mother who died in 2000), who bought the 1.6 hectares in 1970 that formed the foundation of what would become Australia Zoo, a multimillion-dollar operation drawing hundreds of thousands of tourists annually.

A former plumber from Melbourne, Bob Irwin built the Beerwah Reptile Park himself, which was later renamed Australia Zoo. As the attraction's website, which bizarrely does not mention Steve's death, says: "His foresight and innovation in captive care of Australian native animals was setting a new benchmark for wildlife welfare in Australia."