'Never a better day for baby wombats': Woman who snatched animal flees Australia

Watch: Sam Jones running with a baby wombat towards a car while its distressed mother chases after her.

An American tourist who was reportedly filmed picking up and running off with a wild baby wombat fled Australia after officials threatened to cancel her visa in a firestorm of criticism over the incident.

A video shared widely on social media purports to show Sam Jones, who has 92,000 followers on Instagram, running with the baby wombat towards a car while its distressed mother chases after her.

It is not clear exactly when or where the incident took place, but it was at night on what appears to be a country road somewhere in southeastern Australia, home to most wombats.

Horrified Australians called for Jones to be deported, and on Thursday Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said his department was reviewing her visa, which would be cancelled if she was found to have breached the conditions of her stay.

On Friday it was confirmed Jones had voluntarily left the country, with Burke declaring: “There’s never been a better day to be a baby wombat in Australia.”

Experts say the animals in the video were common wombats, the only one of three species of the Australian marsupial which is not threatened or endangered. But like all Australian native animals, they are protected by law.

The video, reportedly deleted from an Instagram account that has since been made private, and TikTok on a now-deleted account, shows a woman running across the road while holding a baby wombat.

“Just caught a baby wombat,” a man said off-camera, apparently referring to Jones. “Look at the mother, chasing after her,” he said, still laughing, referring to the adult wombat which chases the woman onto the road.

On her Instagram Jones describes herself as an “outdoor enthusiast and hunter”, “wildlife biologist” and “environmental scientist”. Her profile picture shows her holding a large dead fish in one hand and a gun in the other.

The criticism was far-reaching and even came from the very top of Australian politics, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese suggesting on Thursday that Jones should try her luck with another Australian animal that was more likely to put up a fight.

“To take a baby wombat from its mother, and clearly causing distress from the mother, is just an outrage,” Albanese said.

“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.”