American influencer removes wild baby wombat from mother to click pictures, faces severe backlash in Australia

A US influencer is veneer backlash on social media after she picked up a baby wombat in the wild and temporarily separated it from its mother. In a now-deleted video, Sam Jones runs away with the animal while laughing as its mother follows the content creator.

Following the criticism, she deleted the video and made her Instagram private. However, the clip has made its way onto other social media platforms.

An X user posted the video with a caption that reads, “American hunting influencer removes baby wombat from distressed mother in Australia. Is this legal?”

In the video, Jones picks up the baby from the side of the road and runs towards her car while giggling. She then gets inside her vehicle and poses with the baby while her companion, off-camera, crack jokes about the situation.

The mother wombat follows Jones for a few moments but then gives up. Finally, Jones releases the baby, who wobbles while trying to get to a nearby bush.

The video of the influencer with the wild animal has angered people, with many suggesting authorities take strict action against her. Several people have called for the American tourist to leave Australia.

An individual posted, “WT*, this horrible. The RSPCA or the Department of Environment needs to prosecute her for interfering with wildlife. A big fine, perhaps 200 hours of community service. Then deport her.” Another added, “Couldn't care less if it's legal. It's abhorrent to take a child from its mother like that.”

A third commented, “Did the mother even take the baby back? Sometimes animals won't after it smells like a human.” A fourth wrote, “Imagine some stranger took her baby away from this influencer for some time and ran and posed on camera like she is doing at that moment and laughed about it. Then maybe she will understand the pain of taking the baby away from the mother. Being humble and kind are rare qualities which are not easy to find in human beings these days.”

In the caption of the now-deleted video, Jones wrote that the “Baby and mom slowly waddled back off together into the bush.” However, according to experts, there is a chance that this might not have happened.

“When I woke up this morning, my inbox had exploded with people sending me the video. After I watched it, I was probably the angriest I’ve ever been, it’s very distressing,” Yolandi Vermaak, licensed wombat rescue, told Yahoo News.

“Nine out of ten times, the mother will not come back for her baby if they’re separated. Babies are taught from a young age to stay nose-to-heel with their mum. So if mum runs when there’s danger, she doesn’t stop and check the baby, it needs to keep up,” the rescuer continued, adding, “You can see the baby is disoriented, and didn't know where to go.”

According to her Instagram bio, Jones is an “outdoor enthusiast and hunter.” It also suggests that she is a “Wildlife Biologist and Environmental Scientist” who has completed her MSc.

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