She's the wildlife conservationist famous for wrestling crocodiles.

But Bindi Irwin's 'spirit animal' is in fact an owl, with the 18-year-old sharing a gushing post about a bird she recently met.

Sharing a photo of a barn owl resting on her hand, the daughter of the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin wrote: 'My spirit animal. I am so in love. Meet Twinkle the gorgeous Barn Owl.'

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Her spirit animal: Bindi Irwin shared a gushing post as she posed with a barn owl, describing the moment as 'precious'

The Dancing With The Stars champion added: 'Words can't describe how precious this moment was.'

Bindi's hashtag suggests the meeting took place at Queensland's Lamington National Park.

In the bright photo, Bindi is seen smiling from ear to ear as she lovingly gazes at her new friend.

Back with her beau: The 18-year-old has recently reunited with her boyfriend Chandler Powell, after the wakeboarder spent three weeks in his native US

The wildlife lover wore a large glove to protect her hand from the bird's sharp claws.

Meanwhile, Bindi has been enjoying spending time with her boyfriend Chandler Powell after the pair spent three weeks apart.

The 20-year-old wakeboarder jetted off to his native US for just under a month, with the pair reuniting earlier this year.

'I missed you': The wildlife conservationist was thrilled to have her other half back, and revealed the pair celebrated New Year's Day in Tasmania

The young love birds spent New Year's Day in Tasmania before flying back to Australia Zoo in the Sunshine Coast.

Bindi shared her excitement at returning to the zoo with her fans, while Chandler thanked her for the trip together and indicated he'll be spending the next few weeks working with Bindi at the zoo.

'I missed you. Wonderful to be back @AustraliaZoo after celebrating New Years in gorgeous Tasmania together,' wrote Bindi.

'I missed you so much': Wakeboarder Chandler also thanked his girlfriend for 'an incredible Tassie trip'

'Ready for lots of fun these Australian School Holidays doing shows at #AustraliaZoo'.

Chandler replied in the comments, saying: 'I missed you so much. Thank you for such an incredible Tassie trip. Looking forward to these next couple weeks at #AustraliaZoo.'

At the same time, Bindi reached out with love for her mother on Twitter, saying: 'I love you so much. You and Robert will always be the light of my life.'