US influencer who snatched baby wombat leaves Australia after outcry
American influencer Sam Jones, who sparked outrage after posting a video of herself disturbing a baby wombat, has left Australia amid widespread backlash. The incident, which featured the animal's distressed mother, led to calls for a visa review and condemnation from Australian officials.
- Life
- Reuters
- Published Date: 08:59 | 14 March 2025
An American influencer who uploaded a video of her grabbing a baby wombat, triggering widespread outrage, has left Australia.
Sam Jones, who describes herself as an "outdoor enthusiast and hunter", posted the now-deleted video to her 92,000 Instagram followers from an unknown location in Australia.
It showed her picking up the baby wombat from the side of a road as it struggled and hissed and the animal's distressed mother ran after it. Jones later put the wombat back down.
Wombats are a marsupial found only in Australia and a protected species.
Jones has left the country, a person familiar with the situation who declined to be named said on Friday, a day after the interior ministry said it was reviewing whether Jones' had breached the conditions of her visa.
"There's never been a better day to be a baby wombat in Australia," Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement on Friday. There was no indication the influencer had been deported.
Jones' video drew widespread condemnation, including from the country's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
"To take a baby wombat from its mother, and clearly causing distress from the mother is just an outrage," he told a news conference on Thursday evening.
"I suggest to this so-called influencer, maybe she might try some other Australian animals. Take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there."
Jones could not be reached for comment. Her Instagram profile has now been set to private.