Samantha Strable (Jones) responded to the criticism with a social media post on Friday. She noted: "This is the first and ONLY public statement I have made to date. There will be another statement coming soon."
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MY OFFICIAL STATEMENT REGARDING
THE WOMBAT INCIDENT 1/2
This statement is provided in full and should not be excerpted or altered without permission. This is the only public statement I have made regarding this incident.
When we found the mother and joey on a road, not moving, I was extremely concerned. As wombats are so often hit on Australian roads, I stopped to ensure they got off the road safely and didn't get hit. However, as is seen from the video, when I walked up to them, the joey did not move or run off. I was concerned it may have been sick or injured, and made a snap judgement to pick up the joey and see if this was the case. I ran, not to rip the joey away from its mother, but from fear she might attack me. The snap judgement I made in these moments was never from a place of harm or stealing a joey.
While I was unbelievably excited to see such an amazing animal, I looked it over quickly and immediately returned it to its mother. I ensured that the mother and joey did reunite, went off together, and that they got off the road.
I have done a great deal of reflection on this situation and have realized that I did not handle this situation as best as I should have. Regardless, my only intent was to prevent these amazing animals from being hit, and making sure the joey wasn't in need of immediate care. I have learned from this situation, and am truly sorry for the distress I have caused.
I want to make it absolutely clear that this was never about social media or getting likes. This was not staged, nor was it done for entertainment. In my excitement and concern, I acted too quickly and then failed to provide necessary context to viewers online.
SkyNews reports that Strable has left Australia.
(1st REPORT) Australia's top diplomat urged a visiting American influencer on Thursday to "leave the baby wombat alone," after a video appeared to show the woman pestering a young marsupial.
In a now-deleted video posted to Instagram this week, the woman can be seen picking up the hissing wild animal before declaring to the camera: "I caught a baby wombat."
The woman — identified in Australian media as American outdoors influencer Sam Jones — then places the wombat back on the side of the road.
According to the Daily Montanan, her real name is Samantha Strable, and she was raised in Great Falls, Montana.
The video riled wildlife experts and animal lovers alike — and on Thursday, concern over it reached the top echelons of the Australian government.
"It looked pretty dreadful, didn't it?" Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong told Australia's Channel Seven.
"I think everyone who would have seen that would have thought, look, leave the baby wombat alone."
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said he was investigating if the woman had violated her visa.
"I can't wait for Australia to see the back of this individual, I don't expect she will return," he said in a statement.
Jones also faced strong criticism from animal welfare advocates. Tania Bishop, a wildlife veterinarian at Australia's largest wildlife rescue organization, the Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the way the influencer picked up the wombat could have damaged its "muscles, tendons, nerves, shoulders and upper arms." Bishop called the situation "distressing."
Australia's Wombat Protection Society said in a statement that the influencer "mishandled a wombat joey" in an "apparent snatch for social media likes."
"She then placed the vulnerable baby back onto a country road — potentially putting it at risk of becoming roadkill," their statement said.
The organization noted there was "no clear evidence" the wombat was reunited with its mother afterward, adding that a "baby of this size is highly dependent on its mother, and prolonged separation could have fatal consequences." They also said the tourist risked injuring herself by interacting with the animal as someone without proper training to handle wildlife.
Australia's rotund native wombats are among the world's biggest burrowing species, according to the national museum.
While some species are considered endangered, the common bare-nosed wombat is found along large swathes of southern and eastern Australia. All species of wombat are protected by law across Australia. "It is an offence to harm a wombat unless a license is obtained from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water," writes the environment and heritage department in New South Wales, where two of the three wombat species can be found.
Jones' exact location when she encountered the wombat isn't known, the Australian broadcaster reported. A Change.org petition is pressing Australian officials to deport the influencer and ban her "from ever returning for this action."
