American tourists and Instagram influencers were recently criticized by social media for posting videos of themselves from their mothers of bringing their baby wombats.
Sam Jones, who has nearly 100,000 Instagram followers under the handle @Samstrays_somewhere, left Australia on Friday after her wombat video landed in hot water along with local authorities.
An Instagram reel shows Jones picking up a wombat as the cameraman laughs and fleeing from his mother. The mother initially escaped from Jones from fear and returned to retrieve the child as a hanging marsupial in Jones' hands.
“Look at my mother! It's like chasing us,” the funny photographer said.
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With nearly 100,000 Instagram followers under the handle of @samstrays_somewhere, Sam Jones left Australia after the video. (@samstrays_somewhere)
“I got my baby wombat,” Jones said with enthusiasm as the baby twitched and hissed.
“Now, mom is right there and she's upset,” the social media influencer said quickly. “Let him go.”
Jones is seen releasing the animal, but it is unclear in the video if the baby is reunited with his mother who disappeared into the tall grass.
The video has received keen corn from around the world and across multiple social media platforms over the past few days.
“The baby wombat was in so much trouble, so the way she grabbed it roughly under the arm running it was awful,” said one X user. “What kind of scary person would do this? I hope she loses all her social media followers.”
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“The baby was clearly upset and mom chased them,” another commentator said. “She had her poor baby hanging from her arms. I hope she's never allowed.”
The video shows Wombat's suffering mother walking towards Sam Jones. (@samstrays_somewhere)
After being warned about the incident, Australian authorities had reviewed Jones' visa when she left the country. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also got heavy on the video, accusing Jones of picking up a baby animal.
“It's just anger to bring a baby wombat from a mother and bring pain from her mother obviously,” Albanese told reporters Thursday. “I'd suggest this so-called influencer. Maybe she'll try other Australian animals.”
“Take the baby crocodile from your mother, see how you get there, take another animal that can actually fight back… see how you get there.”
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However, in a lengthy statement posted on Instagram on Friday, Jones said she wanted to help the animals safely get off the road as she was worried she would be attacked.
Australia's Anthony Albanese has denounced the US influencer for picking up a baby wombat. (Getty Images / @samstrays_somewhere)
Baby wombats are called “Joeys.”
Jones writes that he made a “snap decision” because he is worried that Joey may be sick or injured. [sic] To pick it up.
“I ran. Rather than pulling Joey away from his mother, she might attack me out of fear,” she said. “Snap decision” [sic] I never harmed or stole Joey at these moments. ”
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The creator of social media added that she returned the baby baby to her mother and confirmed that they were leaving the road together.
“I have a lot of regrets about this situation and I have realized that I am not dealing with it the best,” Jones wrote. “Anyway, my only intention was to ensure that these amazing animals were not attacked and that Joey didn't need any immediate care. I learned from this situation and am truly sorry for the pain I caused.”
Jones said the incident was “social media and likes!”
File – Baby wombat known as Joey and his mother seen in Tasmania. (istock)
“This was not performed and not for entertainment,” she concluded. “In the midst of excitement and concern, I acted too quickly and then failed to provide the audience with the necessary context online.”
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Fox News Digital contacted Jones for additional comment but did not immediately respond.
Sophia Compton from Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
