Famous zoo families to meet for first time

12:28 PM, May 11, 2012   |    comments
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UNDATED (CNN) -- They're the family whose lives inspired the hit movie We Bought a Zoo.

And they're Australia's own zoo family - and for the first time the Mees and the Irwins are meeting.

The Mees own Dartmoor Zoological Park in Devon, England, and the movie that tells the story of how they saved it from extinction has just been released on DVD.

And while the Mees have plenty of exotic and interesting animals at their place, this is the first time they've been able to get this close to our unique Australian wildlife.

Ella and Milo lost their mother Katherine to cancer, while Bindi and Robert lost their dad Steve five years ago in an accident with a stingray.

Both families found it was their zoos, and their second family of animals, that helped them through their grief.

They plan to keep in close touch, with the Irwins planning a visit to Dartmoor to see how the other half lives.