Viral video: American influencer pulls baby wombat from distressed mom, internet demands action

In this age of social media, people often go to extreme lengths to capture that perfect photo or video for their social media, sometimes without thinking about the consequences of their actions. An American influencer’s actions towards a baby wombat has sparked discussion on social media.


In the video, filmed by one of the passengers, shows Sam Jones, taking a baby wombat from its distressed mother. In the footage, the passenger can be seen excitedly making comments on the situation, as well as laughing as they describe the scene. "Just caught a baby wombat," the person says, chuckling. The camera then pans to Jones, who is holding the frightened joey, as the mother wombat desperately chases after them. "Look at the mother, chasing after her. Momma’s right there and she is pissed," the passenger says, further mocking the distress caused to the animal.



Jones, seemingly unaware or unconcerned about the harm she caused, remarks, "I caught a baby wombat!" The joey’s cries for its mother can be heard as the camera captures the chaos. Later in the video, Jones says, "OK, mamma’s right there, and she is pissed. Let’s let them go," before reluctantly placing the baby wombat back on the ground. The video, which was captioned "My dream of holding a wombat has been realised! Baby and mom slowly waddled back off together into the bush," has sparked widespread outrage.

The incident, reportedly, took place in Australia, though the exact location remains unclear. The now-deleted video was posted on Instagram. Following intense backlash and calls for accountability, Jones has since made her account private.


Viewers have made incessant calls to wildlife authorities to take action against her and some even suggesting she should be ousted from Australia. One user commented, “Couldn't care less if it's legal. It's abhorrent to take a child from its mother like that.”


Another said, “Imagine some stranger took her baby away from this influencer for some time and ran and posed on camera like she is doing at that moment and laughed about it. Then maybe she will understand the pain of taking the baby away from the mother. Being humble and kind are rare qualities which are not easy to find in human beings these days.”