Bindi Irwin Says Goodbye to Longtime 'Family Member'

The zookeeper paid tribute to the Australia Zoo's beloved echidna in an Instagram post on Wednesday: "Rest In Peace."

Bindi Irwin is mourning the loss of a beloved member of her Australia Zoo family.

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, the zookeeper shared a sweet message in honor of a late echidna who was in their family for nearly 40 years.

"Saying goodbye to our beautiful family member of 38 years," she wrote in the post. "The sweetest, kindest, most wonderful echidna you ever did meet. Rest In Peace, angel."

Irwin shared the heartfelt note along with a series of family photos with the echidna, which is a small quill-covered animal also known as a spiny anteater.

The photos featured the 24-year-old posing with the echidna alongside her mother Terri Irwin and brother Robert Irwin, who shared the post to his own Instagram Story with a broken heart emoji.

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Irwin also included a sweet snap of the echidna with her husband, Chandler Powell, and even one shot of her 16-month-old daughter Grace Warrior interacting with the creature.

The mom-of-one recently celebrated her 24th birthday, prompting her to make an emotional Instagram post about her "enormous growth" over the past year.

"My sweet family has given me the greatest gifts this year through their extraordinary actions each and every day," she wrote at the time. "I'm grateful for another trip around the sun and another year to do my best making difference in this world. Thank you to everyone who is part of my journey, I'm tremendously thankful for you."

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