Crocodile Hunter's widow worried daughter is so happy

Nov 22, 2006, 7:55 GMT

Sydney - Terri Irwin, widow of Australia's famous 'Crocodile Hunter,' who died with a stingray barb in the heart, has taken her two children to a psychologist because their 8-year-old daughter, Bindi, has been 'so happy,' a news report said Wednesday.

Irwin told the Australian Women's Weekly in an interview to be published Thursday that she wanted the psychologist to assess the emotional state of Bindi and her 2-year-old brother, Bob, after the September 4 death of their father, Steve, while filming a documentary on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

'I don't pretend to have all the answers,' Irwin said, according to a preview account reported by the AAP news agency. 'I met with a psychologist, and that's been a tremendous help for me.

'I asked him if everything was OK because Bindi has been so happy,' she said. 'And he said, 'Why? Are you worried? That's what you are shooting for. That's what you want - a well-adjusted child who can handle a tragedy and see that life goes on.''

Irwin, 42, said Bob had not coped with his father's death as well as Bindi.

She said he had a much more difficult time which she attributed to his lack of knowledge about death.

'He saw a dead turtle the other day,' Irwin said, 'and I was trying to explain that it was dead, and he asked if the doctor could fix it, so there is a lot of explaining.'

Steve Irwin, who died at 44, became an international television personality through the documentaries he made in which he got up close and personal with wildlife. Hundreds of millions of people around the world have seen the khaki-clad showman's documentaries.