An American influencer who caused outrage by snatching a baby wombat from its mother has left Australia – amid concerns the “disorientated” marsupial may not have refound its parent.
Sam Jones, who describes herself as an “outdoor enthusiast and hunter”, left the country on Friday after the Australian government said it was reviewing her visa.
In a now-deleted video to her 92,000 followers on Instagram, recorded at an unknown location, Jones says: “I caught a baby wombat” as a man filming her laughs.
She returns the animal to the roadside after several seconds.
Now, there are concerns the baby wombat may have been left to fend for itself – and an animal welfare expert has warned it has a potentially fatal skin disease.
Yolandi Vermaak, founder of animal care charity Wombat Rescue, said separating the youngster from its mother created a risk the parent would reject her offspring.
“My biggest concern is that we didn’t actually see mum and baby getting reunited,” Ms Vermaak said.
“When she put it down, it looked disorientated. It was turned away from where the mother was last seen. So we don’t know if mum and baby actually found each other again.”
Ms Vermaak said Ms Jones should say where she left the wombat after the video showed the joey had a skin disease.
“The baby has mange and it’s a matter of time before it dies of mange, so it’s important for us to find where this happened and to get this baby and its mum treated as soon as possible,” Ms Vermaak said.
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Ms Jones’s actions drew fierce criticism from politicians. Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said she had clearly caused “distress” in the marsupial’s mother and described her behaviour as “just an outrage”.
Home affairs minister Tony Burke, speaking after a government official confirmed Ms Jones had left the country voluntarily, said: “There’s never been a better day to be a baby wombat in Australia.”
Previously, he said he could not wait for “Australia to see the back of this individual”.
The wombat appears to be a common wombat, also known as a bare-nosed wombat. It is found only in Australia and is a protected marsupial.
Ms Jones, who also uses the name Samantha Strable, closed her social media channels to messages and could not be reached for comment on Friday.
