Sam Jones hunting influencer faces barrage of condemnation after stealing baby wombat from its mother as marsupial bayed and cried as mom gave chase amid laughter. Wildlife influencer defends her actions, says it was only for a minute.
A U.S hunting influencer has found herself the center of controversy after sharing video of herself grabbing a wild baby wombat and temporarily separating it from its distressed mother.
Outdoor enthusiast and hunter, Sam Jones shared the since-deleted video to her Instagram account on Tuesday. She needn’t have bothered. The condemnation was swift and heaping. But more on that below.
In sharing the since deleted post, Jones, who describes herself as a ‘wildlife biologist and environmental scientist’, explained coming across the young wombat from the side of an unidentified road while traveling in Australia (wombats are only found ‘down-under’).
Distressed wombat and animal wildlife photo opportunity
Footage (shared on other sites by quick thinking netizens) showed Jones snatching the unawares marsupial and running towards her car with the crying joey swinging in her arms.
The marsupial’s mother was seen desperately chasing the influencer while the voice of a man maniacally laughing can be heard as he filmed the sh*t show ensuing scene. Yes kids, drama and traffic hits at baby wombat’s expense!
‘I caught a baby wombat,’ the excited influencer is heard shrieking as the joey cries and attempts to wiggle itself free from the unwanted clutches of Jones.
‘Okay, mum is right there and she is pissed,’ a voice is heard.
‘Let’s let him go.’ Jones says.
Responds the man filming, ’Nah, he’s all right.’
Moments later Jones released the joey onto the side of the road where its mother was waiting.
The Instagram post received a barrage of backlash, with social media users reporting the video under ‘animal abuse’.
American hunting influencer Sam Jones is facing fierce backlash after taking a baby wombat from it’s mother while visiting Australia. pic.twitter.com/bGUvuxWGX7
— The Project (@theprojecttv) March 12, 2025
‘I don’t ever capture wildlife that will be harmed by my doing so.’
Jones initially defended her actions, claiming she did not harm the joey and only held it for one minute.
‘For everyone that’s worried and unhappy, the baby was carefully held for ONE minute in total and then released back to mum,’ the influencer wrote.
‘They wandered back off into the bush together completely unharmed. I didn’t think I would be able to catch it in the first place, and took an opportunity to appreciate a really incredible animal up close.
‘I don’t ever capture wildlife that will be harmed by my doing so.’
Jones has since been met with an avalanche of condemnation from horrified Australians who’d caught wind of the stunt, prompting Jones to switching her account (with over 92K followers under the handle @samstrays_somewhere to private.
Social media rebukes hunting influencer
Despite Jones’ attempt to remove the video from social media, other users preserved and shared it on both Reddit and TikTok. The rebuke presumably was swift and biting.
Wrote one commentator: ‘As a wildlife rescuer specialising in wombats I can tell you… that this is an absolutely terrifying experience for mum and joey,’
Posted another, ‘It’s not just the entitlement, it’s the disrespect. To greedily exploit the moment for personal gain no matter the trauma it causes to anything and anyone else, it’s such an indictment on her character. Absolutely shameful.’
Wrote another, ‘Revolting, both her and the bloke with her. How the f**k they think that mum trying to get bubs back, and that baby screeching in terror, is funny and OK is absolutely beyond me. Soulless, gutless, heartless stuff.’
Other social media users called for her to be reported to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water and deported back to the US and her home state of Montana.
‘This is heinous and they should both be charged,’ one social media commentator wrote.
‘Please report her to Australian Department of Home Affairs so they can ban her from ever stepping foot in Australia again,’ a second person commented.
A third added: ‘Hope she gets the maximum punishment for f***ing with wildlife’, while a fourth chimed in: ‘Arrest. Fine. Deport. Ban.’
Sam Jones’ online presence is largely populated with images of her posing with animal carcasses she claims to have hunted. Indeed.
