Baby wombat-snatching US influencer at risk of losing Australian visa
==================================================================

Video footage, described as ‘callous’ and ‘pretty dreadful’, shows Sam Jones grabbing the joey from its mother at night

[](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/13/sam-jones-us-influencer-baby-wombat-stolen-from-mother-ntwnfb#img-1)

A screenshot taken from the Instagram account ‘samstrays_somewhere’ shows American woman Sam Jones holding the wombat joey. Australia’s home affairs department is now investigating the video to see if Jones has breached her visa conditions. Photograph: Reddit/Instagram



A US hunting influencer who shared video of herself snatching a baby wombat away from its mother is being investigated for a potential breach of her Australian visa.

The footage, with scenes described as “callous” by the RSPCA and “pretty dreadful” by the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, showed the Montana-based influencer Sam Jones grabbing the wombat joey at night as it was walking with its mother.

“I caught a baby wombat,” Jones says to the camera as the joey hisses and screeches.

“OK, momma’s right there and she is pissed,” Jones then says, as the joey’s mother moves towards her. Jones then puts the joey back by the side of the road.

The footage has been widely shared and condemned on social media.

The footage, which did not indicate any location information or when it was filmed, was shared on the Instagram account “samstrays_somewhere” belonging to Jones, an “outdoor enthusiast & hunter”.

Jones had been sharing pictures and videos of her trip around Australia, including a video of her picking up an echidna at an unknown location and showing it to the camera.

But after the wombat video went viral, attracting strong criticism, the account has been turned to private. The Guardian attempted to contact Jones through Instagram but received no comment.

A TikTok account with the same handle was also deleted.

Australia has three wombat species, two of which are threatened.

The species caught by Jones was identified by one expert as a common wombat, also known as a bare-nosed wombat, which are not threatened.

Jones has defended her actions, saying she did not harm the joey and only held it very briefly, according to news.com.au.



Sign up to Breaking News Australia

Free newsletter

Get the most important news as it breaks

Enter your email address

Sign up

**Privacy Notice:** Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google  and  apply.



Share





Explore more on these topics

* 
* 
* 
* 
* 







Reality TV contestant apologises for killing and eating protected New Zealand bird









Australia will not revise critical minerals-for-tariffs exemption deal rejected by Trump administration







Large rafts of invasive fire ants seen floating in flood waters after Cyclone Alfred







Fatberg weighing 30,000kg is pulled from a sewer in Western Australia







Dead and dying Port Pirie birds and bats exposed to lead at 3,000 times acceptable levels







Peter Dutton took publicly funded flights to Sydney on days of NRL grand finals, records show







Peter Dutton’s work from home policy has many in Coalition ranks worried







Trump administration has ‘deep-seated’ belief in tariffs, says Kevin Rudd







Northern Territory’s growing saltwater crocodile population gorging on nine times more prey than 50 years ago







Australia’s ‘virtually immutable’ health system will be ‘crushed’ by the influx of migrants, experts warn







Rio Tinto’s solar power and battery purchase for Gladstone aluminium operations praised as ‘right direction’







Trump administration has ‘deep-seated’ belief in tariffs, says Kevin Rudd







Northern Territory’s growing saltwater crocodile population gorging on nine times more prey than 50 years ago




```