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A U.S. Influencer Outrages Australians by Snatching a Baby Wombat From its Mom
NPR ^ | March 14, 2025 | Rachel Treisman

Posted on 03/15/2025 11:08:37 AM PDT by nickcarraway

A small wombat stands next to its mother in a zoo. Wombats at the Hannover Zoo in Germany. Sam Jones, a self-described outdoor enthusiast with a large social media following, was widely criticized in Australia after briefly yanking a wombat joey away from its mother in the night.

Australians are celebrating the departure of an American influencer who separated a baby wombat from its mother, as concerns persist about the animal's wellbeing.

The woman, who posts under the name Sam Jones and says she is a Montana-based outdoor enthusiast and hunter, drew ire this week when she posted a video of herself snatching a baby wombat off the side of a road in the dark of night.

As she runs to her car, carrying the wombat by its front legs, its mother can be seen scampering toward them — a fact that the man behind the camera laughingly points out.

"I caught a baby wombat," Jones says excitedly, posing for the camera as the animal squirms and hisses in her grasp. "OK, mama's right there, and she is pissed."

The video ends several seconds later with Jones calling out to the mom — who is no longer in sight — and depositing the baby on the side of the road, alone and in the dark.

Jones, who has more than 91,000 followers on Instagram, has since deleted the video and briefly made her account private — but not before the clip spread across social media, angering Australian viewers, wildlife groups and top politicians.

"To take a baby wombat from its mother and clearly causing distress from the mother is just an outrage," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters on Thursday. "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, take another animal that can actually fight back … see how you go there."

In the days after Jones' video took off, calls grew for her to be deported and even banned from the country — one such online petition has gotten over 38,000 signatures. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said his office was reviewing the conditions of Jones' visa, to determine if she had violated it.

"Either way, given the level of scrutiny that will happen if she ever applies for a visa again, I'll be surprised if she even bothers," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "I can't wait for Australia to see the back of this individual."

The Australian government announced on Friday that Jones had left the country voluntarily.

"There's never been a better day to be a baby wombat in Australia," Burke said in a statement, according to the Associated Press.

Jones apologizes and deflects

Jones addressed the controversy in two lengthy statements on her Instagram page, saying she "realized that I did not handle this situation as best as I should have" and "am truly sorry for the distress I have caused."

She said she came upon the mom and joey on the road and went to ensure they got out of the way of traffic, but grew concerned when the joey didn't move and "made a snap judgement" to pick it up and see if it was hurt. She said she only ran from the mother "from fear she might attack me" and "ensured that the mother and joey did reunite, went off together, and that they got off the road."

"I want to make it absolutely clear that this was never about social media or getting likes," she wrote. "This was not staged, nor was it done for entertainment. In my excitement and concern, I acted too quickly and then failed to provide necessary context to viewers online."

She struck a more defensive tone in a second post, accusing the Australian government of permitting the slaughter of thousands of wombats — and other animals — each year for the sake of landowners, "to feed you."

Wombats are a protected species in Australia, but some local governments can issue permits to cull them for land management purposes.

"While the prime minister wishes harm on me for picking up a wombat, I implore you to take a good, hard, look at what is currently being done in Australia surrounding the real issues it faces ... then, decide for yourself if I, a person who certainly makes mistakes, am really your villain," she wrote.

Multiple wildlife groups have said Jones' actions didn't just cross a line but potentially broke the law.

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act makes it illegal to move or kill certain animals, and various Australian states — including New South Wales and Queensland — prohibit trapping or relocating wombats without a federal license. It is not clear where in Australia Jones filmed the video.

"Snatching a screaming baby wombat from their mother is not just appalling, it's very possibly illegal under Australia's state or national laws," said Suzanne Milthorpe, head of campaigns at World Animal Protection Australia and New Zealand.

The group is calling on the Australian government to investigate Jones' actions and, "if she has broken a law, penalties for this outrageous and harmful behavior."

Even if it wasn't illegal, wildlife experts say Jones' handling of the wombat put them both in potentially lasting danger.

"There is no clear evidence that the joey was successfully reunited with its mother," said the Wombat Protection Society of Australia. "A baby of this size is highly dependent on its mother, and prolonged separation could have fatal consequences."

Four professors in ecology and animal science at three Australian universities — Julie Old, Dale Nimmo, Hayley Stannard and Robert Davis — wrote in a joint column in The Conversation that wombat joeys are fully dependent on their mothers for between 18 months and two years — one of the longest periods for any marsupial.

They said the distress between the separated mom and baby is palpable, and damaging.

"When we interact with wild creatures, we interrupt what they are doing," they wrote. "This can harm the individual – and often, the group – by inducing physical or psychological stress, and changes in behaviour."

They also noted that the incident appeared on a road, increasing the baby's risk of being hit by a vehicle, which is one of the biggest threats to wombats. Another major threat to the species is mange, an infectious skin disease caused by mites that could be fatal if left untreated — and could affect humans who touch them.

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The academics said that Jones "was lucky not to have been injured" by the wombat's teeth and claws, but "could still come down with scabies" if it had mange, since the two conditions are caused by the same mite.

"If you can't captivate an audience with the wonders of wildlife without harassing a wild animal, then perhaps it's time to rethink and refine your social media strategy," they concluded.

Wildlife experts stress that influencers and tourists — like everyone else — should do their best to appreciate nature from a safe distance and carefully research ethical ways to visit and volunteer with animals up close.

"If you are feeling distressed by this video like most people, I urge you to think about what you can be doing in your own lives to love and respect the wildlife around you," volunteer program Kanimbla Wombats wrote on Facebook.


TOPICS: Computers/Internet; Pets/Animals; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: australia; influencer; wombat
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To: wildcard_redneck

Hitler was a vegetarian who wept when he visited a cattle slaughterhouse.


21 posted on 03/15/2025 12:37:22 PM PDT by Ge0ffrey
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To: Ge0ffrey

Why not? It’s gun-control redux.


22 posted on 03/15/2025 12:52:41 PM PDT by DPMD
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To: KarlInOhio

And baby rattle snakes (grab them quickly just behind the head).


23 posted on 03/15/2025 12:57:53 PM PDT by RetiredTexasVet (Trump has arrived and it is awesome to have a real President.)
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To: nickcarraway

First thing...unite mom with baby wombat. Make sure baby wombat survives. 2nd thing: find u.s. influencer and place her between mama bear and bears cub.


24 posted on 03/15/2025 2:10:50 PM PDT by Getready (Wisdom is more valuable than gold and harder to find. )
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To: JayGalt

Like Hamas? Really?


25 posted on 03/15/2025 2:24:03 PM PDT by Williams (Thank God for the election of President Trump!)
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To: Hodar

The childish worship of animals, is childish. She shouldn’t mess with wild animals because of various risks to the human.
This incident lasted about 30 seconds.


26 posted on 03/15/2025 2:26:09 PM PDT by Williams (Thank God for the election of President Trump!)
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To: nickcarraway

At least it wasn’t a baby dingo...


27 posted on 03/15/2025 2:40:12 PM PDT by eldoradude ("What is a person but a collection of choices..." )
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To: Williams

Like Hamas she videoed her crime. Yes. They did & she did. Different crimes. Same impulse to brag about the actions.


28 posted on 03/15/2025 2:47:14 PM PDT by JayGalt (Fight! Fight! Fight!)
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To: DesertRhino

The other ones are complete bullshit
You want something corny?
You got it
There’s a house on my street
And it looks real neat
I’m the chap who lives in it
There’s a tree on the sidewalk
There’s a car by the door
I’ll go for a drive in it

And when the wombat comes
He will find me gone
He’ll look for a place to sit

My wife has burned the scrambled eggs
The dog just bit my leg
My teenage daughter ran away
My fine young son has turned out gay

-The Police (On Any Other Day)


29 posted on 03/15/2025 2:47:41 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: eldoradude
"At least it wasn’t a baby dingo..."
30 posted on 03/15/2025 4:32:27 PM PDT by DAC21 (")
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To: JayGalt

Except no one has pointed out a law against picking up a baby wombat for 30 seconds. Cause it isn’t.

In addition to your comparison to Hamas being insane.


31 posted on 03/15/2025 4:36:35 PM PDT by Williams (Thank God for the election of President Trump!)
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To: Williams

This species of wombat is a protected marsupial found only in Australia. Australia prohibits people from harming or taking native wildlife. Australian authorities say her actions were against the law and that it is highly likely she would be refused a visa if she ever tried to visit Australia again.

I think it is the ultimate display of narcissism to chase and remove a baby of any species from it’s terrified mother for a vanity photo.
Lastly saying two people are similar in one way can be true or false. Either way it does not follow that the people are similar in any other way. She neither raped, or murdered the wombat although she did torture the wombat & its mother and kidnapped it for a short time. I wonder why you feel such a strong need to defend her actions? I find her callousness appalling.


32 posted on 03/15/2025 5:03:19 PM PDT by JayGalt (Fight! Fight! Fight!)
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To: JayGalt

Oh grow up.


33 posted on 03/15/2025 7:35:26 PM PDT by Williams (Thank God for the election of President Trump!)
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To: Hodar

I watch Dean Schneider with his lion pride and see just how affectionate even ferocious predators can be. He raised them from cubs but says that they will view any other human as either enemy or food so he would never be able to bring another human near them. That said, even their loving nature with each other is instinctual.


34 posted on 03/16/2025 12:09:33 AM PDT by kelly4c
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To: kelly4c

That lady who kept a pet chimpanzee in a Connecticut suburb should have done the same.


35 posted on 03/16/2025 7:46:12 AM PDT by Ladybird99
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To: nickcarraway
...influencer...

That happens to an odd pronoun for a dick-head with a phone or camera.

36 posted on 03/16/2025 3:59:31 PM PDT by GingisK
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To: Ladybird99

Oh yeah I faintly remember that. It attacked her friend right? If I recall I called her face up so bad she had to have extensive plastic surgery *shudder*


37 posted on 03/17/2025 9:08:04 PM PDT by kelly4c
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