U.S. influencer snatches baby wombat, enrages an entire continent, and may well be facing the boot

There are a whole bunch of rules tourists visiting Australia need to follow, and a surprisingly large number of them boil down to “under absolutely no circumstances mess with the wildlife.” Aside from many species being unimaginably deadly, Australians have a strong attachment to their critters, but it seems the truly moronic “hunting influencer” Sam Jones didn’t get the memo.

In a now-deleted video posted to her Instagram, Jones spotted a wombat and its baby minding their own business late at night. Any regular person might let out an “aww” or perhaps snap a quick photo with the flash off. But, breathing new life into the stereotype of the ‘ugly American’ tourist, Jones decided to snatch the terrified baby from its mom and parade it around as it hissed and squealed.

Jones appears nonplussed by the animal’s distress, screeching “I caught a baby wombat!” Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that someone whose social media presence revolves around shooting wild animals isn’t that bothered about traumatizing them, but there’s a cast-iron rule about not screwing with baby animals on any continent for a reason.

The video quickly went viral and Australians united in agreement that she’s awful. Finding reactions that didn’t use colorful language was tough, but here’s a broad look at how it’s going down:

Couldn’t agree more with Jahan on this. Social media clout chaser & idiot, Sam Jones must be prosecuted for her actions. Video evidence is there for all to see what she did. Disturbing and terrorising the local fauna for clicks is appalling behaviour. pic.twitter.com/nhTa5qMsBx

— 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙵𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚏𝚢 𝚃𝚢𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚝 (@floofy_tyrant) March 12, 2025

Turns out “social cohesion” just needed an American influencer dangerously mishandling a baby wombat.

— Crowbar Jones 🐻 (@gomichild) March 12, 2025

Kick Sam Jones out of Australia – that video was distressing

Yanks who disrespect our wildlife should get shown the door.

That's one thing most Aussie's agree on.
https://t.co/5WgEplnvte

— – Cass (@Cassandrasl99) March 12, 2025

We are an easy going nation – generally speaking.
But please don't touch our wombat babies.
That's all we ask. Or else.
Got it. pic.twitter.com/xQLcEYbaSl

— SKM (@AustralianRaven) March 13, 2025

Jones promptly went dark online, putting her Instagram on private and apparently deleting her TikTok. Her sole response was defending her actions, with news.com.au reporting that she said “for everyone that’s worried and unhappy, the baby was carefully held for ONE minute in total and then released back to mum.” So yah, no big deal, right? The baby was only snatched for a moment! Ugh, you’re all over-reacting!

But this could have been a very expensive couple of Instagram likes, as in Australia, fines for animal cruelty can be as high as $235,600 for individuals and carry a potential imprisonment of up to seven years as a maximum sentence. However, it seems the Australian government is simply gearing up to give Jones the boot. Sadly, this isn’t a The Simpsons-style literal booting, but the anger is so real that the Australian Prime Minister himself, Anthony Albanese, stepped in. Describing the incident as “an outrage,” saying at a press conference:

“Maybe she might try some other Australian animals. Take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there. Take another animal that can actually fight back rather than stealing a baby wombat from its mother. See how you go there.”

Home affairs minister Tony Burke wants her on the next plane back to the United States, saying bluntly “I can’t wait to see the back of this individual” and that government officials are hard at work examining her visa to find a way to quickly kick Jones out of the continent (and, ideally, the hemisphere). If we were Jones we wouldn’t contest the removal, as enraging the entire population of the country you’re visiting doesn’t often make for a great vacation.

And once Australia has gotten rid of her, they don’t want her back. Burke continued: “given the level of scrutiny that will happen if she ever applies for a visa again, I’ll be surprised if she even bothers.” The opinions of the wombat and its joey are unknown, but we suspect they’re quietly clapping their adorable little paws together as their nation unites to preserve their dignity.

---