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By Blythe Seinor

With a father who is regarded as the greatest boxer of all time, it's fair to say Khaliah Ali comes from tough stock.

But she is an undeniable softie when it comes to animals.

Her eyes welled with tears yesterday as she described what she had seen at the new Wildlife Hospital at Australia Zoo.

"I can't even pick (a favourite), it's impossible," she said.

"You want to say the koalas, but I'm in love with the rhinoceros that let me pet him on his back.

"Then there was the lemur that was so greedy he slapped the other one in the face when he took the banana, and the elephants were so large and gentle. That's the kind of day it's been."
Special : Remembering Steve Irwin

Khaliah, her husband Spencer Wertheimer and their son Jacob made the long-haul flight from Philadelphia to the Sunshine Coast this week to take part in tomorrow's opening celebrations of the hospital, which will coincide with Steve Irwin Day.

The trip is part of her role as the US Ambassador for Wildlife Warriors.

She said she initially wanted to become involved in the organisation after she heard Bindi Irwin speak in the wake of her father Steve's death.

"I was so moved because being the child of boxer Muhammad Ali I know what it's like to live with your family's legacy," she said yesterday.

"Certainly this cause is the most laudable and of the highest order.

"I remember picking up the phone and feeling in my heart there is nothing I won't do to help Wildlife Warriors."

She said she regarded Steve Irwin as one of the great leaders of our time.

"Who Steve was in my eyes was Dr King or Ghandi," she said.

"He was somebody who taught people to love where there was fear and taught them tolerance and educated them where there was hatred.

Khaliah said she planned to return to the Sunshine Coast every year to play a part in Steve Irwin Day.

At 1300sqm, the new Australian Wildlife Hospital is the largest of its kind in the world.

It cost $5 million to build and will treat more than 5000 "patients" each year.

The Federal Government contributed $2.5m towards the project, with the rest funded by Australia Zoo and fundraising efforts.