American influencer who was filmed snatching baby wombat from mother leaves Australia after visa threat

An American tourist who triggered outrage by posting a video of herself carrying a baby wombat away from its mother left Australia after officials threatened to cancel her visa.

Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Thursday that his office was determining whether Sam Jones — a self-described “outdoor enthusiast & hunter” from Montana with more than 91,000 followers on Instagram — had breached any conditions of her stay.

“I can’t wait for Australia to see the back of this individual,” Burke said in a statement to Yahoo News Australia.

On Friday, Burke's office confirmed 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.

The viral video

In a since-deleted video posted to her Instagram and TikTok accounts, Jones is seen running down the road toward a parked vehicle with the animal as it hisses and screeches.

“I caught a baby wombat!” Jones says to the camera as she is being filmed by an unidentified man who can be heard laughing in the background.

“Look at the mother, it's like chasing after her," the man says as Jones runs toward the car clutching the baby wombat, known in Australia as a “joey.”

“OK, momma’s right there and she is pissed,” Jones says before placing the distressed juvenile by the side of the road.

It’s unclear when or where the footage was shot. Her Instagram account has since been set to private. And her TikTok account appears to have been deleted.

The backlash online

The video was met with immediate condemnation, with commenters saying they planned to report the incident to authorities, and others calling for Jones to be deported.

According to the Daily Mail, Jones initially defended her actions in the comments section.

"For everyone that's worried and unhappy, the baby was carefully held for ONE minute in total and then released back to mum,” she wrote. “They wandered back off into the bush together completely unharmed. I didn't think I would be able to catch it in the first place, and took an opportunity to appreciate a really incredible animal up close.”

She added: “I don't ever capture wildlife that will be harmed by my doing so.”

The laws protecting wombats

Wombats are a protected species in Australia, and some are considered threatened. The species caught by Jones was identified as a bare-nosed wombat, which is not threatened, but it’s illegal to catch wildlife without a license. And people found guilty of harming wildlife face penalties of up to $330,000.

In a statement posted to Facebook, the Wombat Protection Society of Australia expressed shock and concern over Jones's actions.

“The individual, who appeared to have no understanding of wombat behaviour or the severe stress caused by human interference and separation from its mother, then placed the vulnerable baby back onto a country road — potentially putting it at risk of becoming roadkill,” the group said.

Meanwhile, a Change.org petition demanding that Jones be immediately deported and barred from returning to Australia has generated more than 27,000 signatures.

An outcry from officials

Top Australian officials have expressed anger over the video.

“It looked pretty dreadful, didn’t it,” Penny Wong, Australia’s foreign minister, told Channel 7. “I think everyone who would have seen that would have thought, ‘Leave the baby wombat alone. Leave it with its mum.’”

Even Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese weighed in on the incident late Thursday.

“To take a baby wombat from its mother, and clearly causing distress from the mother, is just an outrage,” Albanese told reporters.

“I suggest to this so-called influencer, maybe she might try some other Australian animals,” he added. “Take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there.”