Outrage in Australia After American Woman Grabs a Baby Wombat
Australia|Influencer’s Wielding of Wild Wombat Incurs Wrath of a Nation
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/14/world/australia/wombat-american-influencer.html
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A video of an American woman snatching a baby wombat from the side of its mother enraged many in Australia. She left the country Friday.
In times of tumult and uncertainty, a society can come together over resounding, unequivocal disdain against a common villain.
This week, Australia, which is gearing up for a divisive election, found that antagonist in an American social media influencer. The woman — known as “Sam Jones” from Montana on Instagram — snatched a baby wombat from near its mother at night from the side of what appeared to be a remote road. Then she ran back to her vehicle and held the marsupial up for a camera, as it wriggled and squealed.
“Mama’s right there, and she’s pissed,” the woman said in a video posted online. She went on to release the joey on the roadside in the darkness, illuminated only by her car’s headlights.
Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, suggested that she try the same with a crocodile and see how that goes. “To take a baby wombat from its mother, and clearly causing distress from the mother is just an outrage,” Mr. Albanese said.
The indignation was bipartisan: Asked about the video by a reporter, the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, called it “a cruel act.”
The minister for home affairs, Tony Burke, said officials would review the woman’s visa to see if any immigration laws had been breached, and that any future applications from her would receive intense scrutiny. The government did not release her name but Australian news media identified her as Samantha Strable.