Influencer sparks outrage after taking baby wombat from its mom
Sam Jones posted clip on Instagram showing her with the marsupial while the mother gave chase
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A US influencer has sparked backlash and calls for her deportation from Australia after she grabbed a baby wombat from its mother.
Sam Jones, who claims to be a âwildlife biologist and environmental scientistâ posted a video to Instagram showing her taking the marsupial and then running across the road dangling the joey, while its mother gives chase.
An Australian man in the since-deleted video can be heard laughing and says, âLook at the mother, itâs chasing after her!â
âI caught a baby wombat!â Jones says in the video, as the baby makes distressed noises.
âOK mamaâs right there and she is p***ed, letâs let him go,â she adds, before walking across the road to release the baby.
Australian radio station 2GB reported that she captioned the video: âMy dream of holding a wombat has been realised! Baby and mom slowly waddled back off together into the bush.â
While she added in the caption that âthe baby and mum were safely unitedâ, the video drew swift condemnation. Jones, who has more than 100,000 followers combined on TikTok and Instagram, has since deleted the clip, and has made both her social media accounts private.
Australian native animals are protected by law, and wildlife rescue organisation Wires confirmed to News.com.au that such an act was illegal.
WIRES Wildlife Vet Dr Tania Bishop told the news outlet that the joey looked about eight months old, an age where it would be relying on its mumâs protection âat all timesâ.
Dr Bishop said the situation would have been distressing for both mother and joey, but Jones could have also injured the baby by the way she carried it.
The baby wombat could be heard squealing in the video while dangling from the influencers arms (Reuters)
âWhen sheâs running, itâs not supported underneath, and wombats are incredibly solid, especially in their back end, so thereâs every chance she could have fractured the upper humerus, or the top of the arms, or caused damage to the shoulders,â she said.
The vet also pointed out the influencer potentially put the mother in harms way, as she could have been hit by a car running across the road.
In a Reddit thread on the video, users said they were âdepressedâ and angry to see this behaviour.
One pointed out that if the wombat was a Northern Hairy-nosed wombat, it would be on the protected species lists and she could face even tougher penalties for handling it, including a fine of up to $330,000 (ÂŁ160,500).
âEvery Aussie knows. You see baby wildlife with its family you leave it alone. They aren't toys for your amusement,â one user said in the subreddit thread on r/Australia.
âItâs not just the entitlement itâs the disrespect. That her first instinct is not awe and gratitude to see this animal in the wild but to rush in to greedily exploit the moment for personal gain no matter the trauma it causes to anything and anyone else, itâs such an indictment on her character. Absolutely shameful,â another said.
A third said: âOh my god. Why do people feel the need to just insert themselves in nature and desecrate it? Leave them be! This poor mother is trying to protect her young. Disgusting behaviour.â
Other users called for her to be deported and banned from Australia.
âArrest. Fine. Deport. Ban.â One user said.
Another added: âThat poor wombat. Australia needs to do more to kick these morons out.â