By Fiona Connolly
I Love My Daddy!

IT was the best Father's Day present Steve Irwin could have asked for – a moving tribute from his eight-year-old daughter telling the world how she loved him "very, very much."


In Irwin's last magazine interview, Bindi told the September edition of marie claire in it's Father's Day special just how much her dad meant to her: "I love that he's funny, he's entertaining and he's always there when I need him most.

"I'm proud to have a dad like that, who takes on conservation issues around the world.

"I love him very, very much."

For Irwin, the rare father-daughter interview and photo was so treasured he requested all photos from the shoot be sent to him – a series Bindi will now treasure forever.

While Irwin had knocked back previous interview requests, he agreed to the shoot as it was "something he and Bindi could do together," a spokeswoman for the magazine said.

In the interview he said his daughter had inherited his love of animals: "The most important thing in Bindi's life is that she's grown up in a zoo. Bindi's passionate about animals, but she's also into singing, dancing and dress-ups, like any other little girl.

"I'd do anything to spend time with my daughter."