A US 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.
In the video, Montana-based Ms Jones lifts the wombat joey by its front legs in darkness from a roadside and then runs away from its mother.
"I caught a baby wombat," she said as a man filming her laughs.
She returns the wombat to the roadside after several seconds.
Wombats are a marsupial found only in Australia and a protected species.
Ms Jones has left the country, a person familiar with the situation who declined to be named said, a day after the interior ministry said it was reviewing whether Ms 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 today. There was no indication the influencer had been deported.
Ms Jones' video drew widespread condemnation, including from the country's 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 yesterday.
"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."
Ms Jones' Instagram profile has now been set to private.
Yolandi Vermaak, founder of the animal care charity Wombat Rescue, said separating the young wombat from its mother created a risk that the mother would reject her offspring.
"My biggest concern is that we didn't actually see mom and baby getting reunited. When she put it down, it looked disoriented. It was turned away from where the mother was last seen. So we don’t know if mum and baby actually found each other again," Ms Vermaak said.
Ms Vermaak also called on Ms Jones to say where the wombat was after the video showed the joey had a skin disease.
"The baby has mange and it’s a matter of time before it dies of mange, so it’s important for us to find where this happened and to get this baby and its mom treated as soon as possible," Ms Vermaak said.
Additional reporting PA
