An influencer who was widely criticised for grabbing a baby wombat and carrying it away from its mother has left Australia, Immigration Minister Tony Burke’s office has confirmed.
The influencer, who is known as Sam Jones but also uses the name Samantha Strable, left Australia on Friday morning.
Ms Jones posted an Instagram reel of herself on an unidentified roadside picking up the baby wombat and running towards the camera with the joey in her arms as its mother ran after it.
The footage featured the joey squirming and screeching before Ms Jones put it back on the road.
It showed the baby walking back into the scrub.
Ms Jones deleted the the video after animal welfare advocates criticised her over her treatment of the joey.
On Thursday, Mr Burke said officials were reviewing the conditions of Ms Jones’ visa to determine whether immigration law had been breached.
On Friday morning, his office confirmed to the ABC that Ms Jones had left the country.
“There’s never been a better day to be a baby wombat in Australia,” Mr Burke said.
The ABC understands she was not deported, but left on her own accord.
It’s unknown where Ms Jones travelled to, however her social media profile suggests she is based in Montana, a state in the US.
The joey is seen here squirming in Sam Jones’ grasp. (Instagram: samstrays)
Bipartisan criticism
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the video was an “outrage”.
“They are gentle, lovely creatures … I suggest to this so-called influencer, maybe she should try some other Australian animals, maybe she should try a crocodile.
“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.”
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton also condemned Ms Jones’ treatment of the joey, calling it a “cruel act”.
“I’m glad that the influencer has now left,” he said on Friday morning.
Footage angers wildlife advocates
Picking up a baby wombat is a “terrible idea”, wildlife experts from Western Sydney University, Charles Sturt University and Edith Cown University wrote in in a piece for The Conversation.
“Seeing a joey separated from her mother for social media content was unsettling,” Julie Old, Dale Nimmo, Hayley Stannard and Robert Davis wrote.
“The encounter will have made stress levels soar for the baby and mother.”
Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (WIRES) vet Tania Bishop said Ms Jones’ actions could have caused severe distress to the mother and joey.
“The way she picked up the joey by the forearms very easily could have caused damage to the muscles, tendons, nerves, shoulders and upper arms,” Dr Bishop said.
“It’s very distressing because we didn’t get to see whether the joey was OK afterwards or whether there was any sort of permanent damage.”
In a comment on the since-deleted video, Ms Jones said the mother and joey “wandered back off into the bush together completely unharmed”.
Sam Jones deleted the video and set her Instagram account to private. (Instagram: samstrays_somewhere)
Is it illegal to pick up a wombat?
“Official approvals are required to capture and handle wildlife,” the four university experts wrote.
“Engaging in these activities without the necessary permits is typically illegal.”
Dr Bishop said that under the Environmental and Biosecurity Protection Act 1999, it was illegal to harm or take any native wildlife in Australia.
“The only time there’s legal reason to do anything like that is if there’s a dead mother and somebody has a reasonable idea that a joey is in need of help or assistance,” she said.
“But in this circumstance, there was no legal justification for her to do that.”
The ABC has not received reports from any jurisdictions about charging Ms Jones over the video.
Who is Sam Jones?
She goes by the name of Sam Jones on Instagram.
She hasn’t deleted her account, but she has changed her settings so that only followers she approves can see her posts.
The influencer’s account has been set to private. (Instagram: samstrays_somewhere)
Her account, which has the handle samstrays_somewhere, has more than 90,000 followers.
On her profile, she describes herself as a “wildlife biologist and environmental scientist”, an “outdoor enthusiast” and a hunter.
In another video posted to Ms Jones’ Facebook page she is also seen picking up an echidna.
The ABC was unable to confirm when or where that video was filmed.
Sam Jones holding an echidna in a video posted to Facebook on May 24, 2024. Accessed on March 14, 2025. (Facebook: samstrays somewhere)
