My fears for Little Miss Croc Hunter

My first encounter with Bindi Irwin is still clearly etched in my mind. Just a few weeks after she was born, her father Steve swept her up in his arms and marched along the zoo path, beckoning me to follow. 'This is where it begins,' he said.

Minutes later he was holding a huge python so close to Bindi's face that its flashing tongue brushed her cheeks. 'I want her to learn young, mate,' said the proud new father, known to the world as the Crocodile Hunter.
Perhaps I should have considered myself privileged to have been present at that bizarre zoological baptising of baby Bindi.

For today she is a household name, not only in her native Australia, but around the world. Bindi is now a fully-fledged superstar.

She has a fashion range, CDs, videos and glossy magazine covers to her name — not to mention her chat show appearances and turns on the catwalk. Not bad for a nine-year-old.

She's even set to release her own rap song and there is talk about a Bindi doll - which is likely to be more popular than Barbie in her native Australia.

But before we examine the business operation that critics have dubbed 'Bindi Ltd', we should remind ourselves of the tragic event which swung the international spotlight onto the youngster.

It was at the start of the Australian summer last year and the Irwin family - Steve, Terri, Bindi, young Bob, aged two, and Steve's dad, also called Bob - had been on a crocodile research trip in Queensland.

After this, Terri and the children headed to Tasmania while Steve prepared for a new documentary. Part of the film he was to make is to be used in Bindi's upcoming TV series, Bindi The Jungle Girl.


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