U.S. influencer who snatched baby wombat leaves Australia after outcry

SYDNEY — An American influencer who uploaded a video of her grabbing a baby wombat, triggering widespread outrage, has left Australia.

Sam Jones, who describes herself as an “outdoor enthusiast and hunter,” posted the now-deleted video to her 92,000 Instagram followers from an unknown location in Australia.

It showed her picking up the baby wombat from the side of a road as it struggled and hissed, and the animal’s distressed mother running after it. Jones later put the wombat back down.

Wombats are a marsupial found only in Australia and a protected species.

Jones has left the country, a person familiar with the situation who declined to be named said Friday, a day after the interior ministry said it was reviewing whether Jones had breached the conditions of her visa.

“There’s never been a better day to be a baby wombat in Australia,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement Friday. There was no indication the influencer had been deported.

Jones’ video drew widespread condemnation, including from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

“To take a baby wombat from its mother, and clearly causing distress from the mother is just an outrage,” he told a news conference on Thursday evening.

“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.”

Jones could not be reached for comment. Her Instagram profile has now been set to private.