SYDNEY – An American influencer who outraged Australians by snatching a baby wombat from its apparently distressed mother flew out of the country on March 14, the government said.
In a now-deleted video posted to Instagram this week, the woman can be seen picking up and running with the hissing wild animal before declaring to the camera: “I caught a baby wombat.”
The marsupial’s mother is seen in the nighttime images chasing her joey.
The woman – identified in Australian media as American outdoors influencer Sam Jones – then places the wombat back on the side of the road.
“There’s never been a better day to be a wombat in Australia,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said of the influencer’s departure.
The minister earlier revealed that the woman’s tourist visa was under review in light of the video.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the influencer for pestering the rotund, burrowing marsupial.
“To take a baby wombat from its mother, and clearly causing distress from the mother, is just an outrage,” he told reporters on March 13.
“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.” AFP
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